Misbehavin'
by squeekness
Summary: While the Xmen begin to track down a mysterious terrorist, Kimble struggles to fit in at the Mansion. Part 10 of my Kimble series.
1. Chapter 1

Summary : While the X-men begin to track down a mysterious terrorist, Kimble struggles to fit in at the Institute. Part 10 of my Kimble series.

Notes : Rated M for language, violence, and sexual situations.

AU but only because I chose to change a few things in my dear friends' histories for simplification, nothing drastic so please forgive. I wrote this for a friend who didn't read the comics so there is a bit of back history and explanation on who everyone is and what their powers are. I've been working on this story for years so I do ask that you don't use any of my non-Marvel universe characters without my permission. I love my Siskans as I do my children.

Wyndsong, good to hear from you. I'm glad you're still reading!

ColossusR, thanks for chiming in. Yeah I do know that in the comics, Rogue wasn't actually raped, but it makes more sense for her to have been given that it was a prison and all. I think Marvel was going to do it and chickened out because too many young people read the books. Also, yeah, Kimble is a lot like a puppy in his natural playful innocence and tendency for trouble as you will read here.

Thanks again to all of you who have commented. You might not think so but I have been paying attention to all you guys say. With this newest rewrite, I have added scenes, changed things around, and I think my story has been all the better for it. Hope to keep hearing from you! -- Sq.

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(One)

Kimble leaned against the side of the shop bench, hopelessly bored. He stared off into space, his eyes glazing over. Fallen and Henry had begun their efforts to free Seth from the system and already they had hit some difficult snags. It was going to take a while. They'd been at this all morning and it was now well after noon.

Henry was serious about Kimble joining the school as a student alongside Maylee and to that end Kimble had spent a small portion of yesterday sitting at a desk undergoing placement testing. It was standard procedure for any new person to do this in order to determine where in the school they should be placed academically. Since Kimble had never had any formal schooling, one could only guess what grade he should be admitted to. Maylee had joined him for the testing but Kimble's computer driven mind had him zipping through the exams far more quickly than she did. His responses were now being evaluated and until they came back, he was here to free to do as he pleased, which pretty much meant being bored to pieces. Before being removed from the computer, Kimble had duties, he had things to do. Their arrival here had freed him of most of those responsibilities and he now found himself unoccupied, uselessly twiddling his thumbs and cooling his heels.

Their first full day here had gone quietly and other than the boring old testing, Kimble had enjoyed it, wanting some time away from the stress of their chaotic journey here. Now after that break in the action, he was ready for a little more excitement. Not wanting to be alone, he'd passed the time here at the feet of his Mistress, but was running out of things to appease his short attention span. He had occupied himself playing solitaire for a while, but he had always hated playing alone. Fallen was seated next to him on a stool, her face glowing blue from the computer screen in front of her.

"Ya wants ta go outside with me?" Kimble asked his Mistress.

Fallen's eyes never left the screen. "Not now, Kim. I'm busy. Maybe later, okay?"

He got up with a grunt and went to the Storage Room. He pulled out the guitar and took it out to the shop, making himself comfortable on Fallen's bed. He plucked a few awkward notes and then played happily, momentarily amused.

"Kimble?"

"Uh huh?" he replied, looking up into Fallen's sky blue eyes with a small smile. He had her attention now and would do anything she asked.

"Could you take that upstairs? I can't concentrate."

Kimble swallowed his disappointment. "Uh, shure, baby doll."

He picked up the guitar and left. He settled on one of the barracks beds, but it just wasn't the same doing this alone. He set the instrument down and shuffled into the empty galley, not quite sure what he was doing there. He opened the cupboards one by one, but found nothing of interest. Sullen and morose, he left the ship, seeking anything, anything to make this dull empty boredom go away.

Kimble took the tram and wandered through the lower level of the Institute, peering into the gym with curiosity. The gym was a huge room with a hardwood floor and a tall vaulted ceiling. A long eye beam ran the length of that ceiling and a had a climbing rope attached to it. There was a basketball court and tennis area marked off. Another section was set aside as a workout room with many weight benches and exercise machines. Three tread mills stood by patiently waiting for use. Two doors leading out were labeled Locker Room and Showers.

The gym was empty except for a lone X-man huffing and puffing at the weights. Bobby Drake was stretched out on the bench, heaving quite a bit more weight than he should, recklessly working out without a spotter. He had always been kind of scrawny and was determined to match Wolverine's solid body if it took him all his life.

Kimble grinned, not about to let an opportunity like this go to waste. He shivered and shifted into his woman skin, taking the time to clothe herself in a tight fitting black spandex dress. She sauntered casually into the gym, whistling softly.

Iceman set the weights down and looked up. "Uh? Who's there?" He squinted up at his unexpected visitor, struggling to recognize her. "Kimble?"

She didn't answer him, but slowly made her way next to his bench, moving with her languid feline grace the whole way. She stood over him now, pinning him down with her beautiful blue eyes, then straddled the bench over his waist. He was so stunned by her sudden appearance and seductive manner, he made no move to stop her.

Kimble leaned down over him, giving him full view of her ample cleavage and touched his fuzzy chin with a slender white finger. "Still wants ta see what I kin do?"

Bobby's throat was working but only a strangled wheeze came out. This certainly wasn't something that happened to him every day, in spite of his own ability to charm.

Kimble came closer still and kissed him slowly, licking at his lips playfully. All her skill and training as a Courtesan came to bear now that she was finally back in her element, she had Bobby's full attention now. She closed her eyes and kissed him deeper, feeling him give in with a moan.

Bobby's mind was swimming. He knew on some level that this was wrong, that he should be shoving this faux female away, but he was overcome with a sudden desire and heady lust that robbed him of all reason. As with Bruce, Kimble was seducing him quickly, backwashing her own heat and passion into him and drowning him with it. He fell back against the bench and offered no resistance.

Kimble was thrilled beyond measure. What a delightful end to another boring, empty day. She still had no idea that Bobby was overcome by her spell. She did not possess real control over her empathy, she simply believed that Bobby had finally accepted her invitation from the other night and she was going to feel the heat and rapture of his love. It had been so very long...so very long.

The gym door slammed suddenly and a female voice squeaked, "Oh! Excuse me!"

Kimble looked up with half open eyes and saw Jean standing there, her mouth wide open.

"What's goin' on?" Wolverine growled from behind her, impatient that she had stopped so suddenly and was in his way. He took one look at the interrupted parties and snarled.

"Wh-what's happening...?" Bobby slurred from the bench, his mind still cloudy. He blinked blearily and pawed up at the woman on top of him. He felt her there and then came to his senses suddenly. "Hey!" he shouted and transformed his body into a living statue of ice.

The same way Iceman's fingers had frosted from the stress of his reunion with his dear friend Henry, he could alter his whole body at will if he was pressed enough. This had been no accident – he was pissed to be sure, but firmly in control this time. The ability to change his whole body was a unique and useful talent, especially when cornered by someone who couldn't handle the freeze. Topping even that, he created bumpy little spikes as well, an icicle porcupine.

Kimble yelped as she was suddenly chilled by the presence of the human popsicle below her. Repelled by the fierce cold and semi-sharp spikes, she toppled gracelessly and fell over onto her ass with a shout. She stood up, pulling her runaway dress down and dusted off, pissed off at her rough treatment.

"What's the big idear, man! I wuzn't doin' nuthin' ya didn't wants!"

Kimble's accent sounded so strange and wrong with her high pitched female voice, marring the illusion she had created. No longer fooled, Bobby staggered away from the bench, his hands held defensively over his crotch, even frozen he was sporting a big one and couldn't hide it. That much of Kimble's seduction had worked at least, but whatever fascination he'd had with the Siskan from the other night was now clearly gone. "What did you think you were doing? Get away from me, you fuckin' freak!"

Kimble stepped back, stung by the accusation and the vibrations of hate and loathing that were now coming from her would be lover. "I ain't no freak!" she blurted out, offended, and contradicted herself by shifting back into her pilot skin.

Wolverine had by this time stomped his way over and he now stood in between Bobby and Kimble. He glanced back at Iceman, who had recovered some of his dignity. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he grumbled, disgusted. The fact that Kimble had changed back into his male form didn't help Kimble's case one bit. Bobby was horrified.

"Did you want this?"

"Hell, no! I was just minding my own business, working out, and she...he...**_it_** came in here and started in on me. I don't know what happened, I can't remember..."

"It's all right. Just be careful next time," Wolverine cautioned, saving his anger for Kimble. He looked back at Kimble now, his eyes blazing. "What the fuck did ya think you were doin'?"

"Nuthin'. I wuz jus' lonely and wanted some comp'ny. That's all."

"Well, find it somewhere else!" Logan snarled, giving out a threatening growl with it.

Kimble fled. He bolted out of the gym, sickened by Logan's bright shine and the hate that inevitably came with it. He hadn't done anything wrong as far as he knew, Logan's anger was unjustified. He'd overheard that Bobby didn't have a mate and Kimble took that to mean he was available. Bobby hadn't given him any indication on the first night here that he wasn't interested so Kimble just didn't understand what had happened. He hadn't expected the disgusted loathing that had come from the young man and certainly didn't think he deserved it. Kimble had gone out of his way to make himself more presentable with the female skin, so what was the big deal?

Kimble ran in his sloppy pilot's gait, crooked cat legs not being the best for running. He had never had to run for any kind of real distance in this skin before and hadn't realized just how awkward these legs were for running. He found that if he leaned slightly forward and slowed his stride to match that of a bird, he could actually run quite quickly.

He covered the mile long distance back to the hanger at a fast trot, not wanting to wait for the tram. He didn't want to go back to the Dragon and the boredom that waited for him there, so he made his way to the back of the hanger and phased up inside one of the Blackbirds. He was still fascinated by these large planes and liked to roam around inside them. They were large and roomy inside with two small rows of seats.

He curled up in one of the furthest seats from the front and tucked his head under his arms, bawling. He wasn't mean, he wasn't bad, he was just lonely. Just in need of love. Didn't these people need love, too? Why was he so different that he should be punished like this?

He cried until he fell asleep. He hadn't realized he was dreaming until he found himself in the circle of light of the Black Room, shivering and alone. He wasn't on the Lucky Dragon and he knew he wouldn't have access to this room unless he was there, his telepathic link with the ship had no range. He wiped at his face and called out to his brother anyway, but the only response was silence. He didn't like it when he dreamed of the Black Room, it usually meant trouble. It was here that Zander, a remnant echo of a former life and his personal boogy man, liked to come out and try and play around with his head. He had hoped to be free of Zander, but it didn't look like he was going to be so lucky. He had made a tentative peace with this angry spirit, but that didn't mean Zander couldn't come out and do something freaky just for a laugh.

He heard a small scritching noise and whirled around, surprised he actually got a response to his call. He felt a sudden icy fear he couldn't explain. He could sense the presence of another person just beyond the inky blackness. "Seth? Is that you?" he called out, still hopeful for a happy ending.

There was no answer, but he jumped back when a broken wooden sign came flying out at him at him from the impenetrable darkness. Whoever was out there had thrown it at him. He picked it up and turned it over. It was filthy, covered with excrement and grime. Kimble grimaced in disgust, but didn't let it go. There were some words scrawled on it, **junta bay.** The Siskan expression for the worst kind of evil possible. Kimble's trembling grew worse. "Who's there?" he whispered again, not really wanting to know.

"Kill yerself..." a voice whispered soft and low. It was tiny, like that of a small child, a young girl. It sounded similar to Young Kimble's voice when she'd been in the girl skin, but he couldn't be sure. She continued her tiny persuasions, "It'd be so easy. We would be happy then, up in Heaven with our father."

"Zander!" Kimble called out. He wasn't sure if it was Zander messing with him or not, but he knew Zander couldn't be trusted. It was easier to blame him than to think of where this might be going. "This isn't funny!"

He was greeted only with a moan of terrible pain and anguish. "I wants ta go home! There ain't no loves here fer us!"

The sound tore a hole in Kimble's heart and he felt tears come to his eyes. Her pain was unmistakable and frightening, mainly because it was achingly familiar. Spooked, Kimble dropped the sign, not wanting to touch it anymore. "Zander stop this! It ain't funny no more!"

"What makes ya think it's me?"

Kimble turned around as he saw the spirit of his former self approach from a different direction than the sign had been tossed. Zander walked confidently into the circle of light and circled him slowly, looking him over with his shattered mirror face.

"Stop it with yer games, it ain't funny no more!"

"I heard you the first time, pup. That wasn't me," Zander said playfully. His voice was low and growly, the sound of anger and hate.

"Then who is it?" Kimble asked impatiently. He had no desire to play any of Zander's games.

"Oh, don' mind her, she's just a pathetic little scrap of garbage."

"You all hates me!" the girl whispered again and sobbed.

"Of course we hates ya, ya never shuts up!" Zander growled out to the darkness. "Go away!" Zander looked down at Kimble who's face had creased with worry. It was bad enough he dreamed of Zander, he didn't need anyone new to trouble him. "Ya don' look so happy, pilot," Zander observed. "Things still not workin' out fer you?" he asked, an 'I told you so' tone in his voice.

Kimble wiped at his frightened tears defensively and tried to hide his pain. "Evrathin's fine."

"Shure it is. That's why yer all curled up an' hidin' away from yer precious X-men. You cain't lie worth shit, boy."

"What do ya want?"

"Just lettin' ya know I'm still here an' I'll be checkin' in on you from time ta time. We gots work ta do, don' ferget."

"What work?"

"Sheyman's work. Ya gots ta learn yer powers. I ain't gonna sit back and let ya wimp out here like ya done on the ship. These alphas ain't pushin' us around, I kin guarantee that."

"You ain't real. You don' control me," Kimble said arrogantly, horrified that Zander was even still around. He tossed the wooden sign back out into the black, sure now that Zander had been toying with him.

"No, I ain't real. Not like you. But I gots a voice an' when ya need it, I'm gonna be right here shoutin' at ya."

"I don' need yer help."

"Yes, ya do," Zander replied and stepped back, his hands glowing a faint blue. Like magic, a ghostly image of Valentin's huge broadsword presented itself in his hands. "Don' ferget this. We're gonna learn how ta use this. We're gonna show these alphas that yer stronger'n them an' that they better start treatin' ya right. Gives ya the respect ya deserve."

Kimble swallowed heavily, not sure what Zander was really after, but agreeing with some of what he'd said. Sheyman had told him to learn his powers and anything else he could. He wondered if he should push the issue of his joining the school a little harder with Henry, but the cool reaction he just got from the X-men crew held him back. He was beginning to wonder if the students would like him any better than the Senior alphas did. Seemed like he just didn't fit in anywhere.

"Doncha worry none. We're gonna learn this together. Jus' you an me," Zander promised.

Kimble nodded slowly and lowered his eyes. He startled a little when he felt Zander approach and touch his face. Zander ran his thumb over Kimble's lips and grinned, leaning in to kiss him. Once more, Kimble felt a surge of strength from the contact and startled awake back on the Blackbird, aroused beyond belief. He squirmed on the seat and shivered himself naked, impatient to get his hands on himself. He jerked off quickly, shaking and quivering with disappointment when he climaxed without the satisfaction he craved, it just wasn't the same without someone else there and it never would be. Still, some of his earlier heat was gone and he could think a little better.

He wasn't happy he was still dreaming about Zander, but wasn't afraid like before. He had been reunited with his lost memories and was stronger now than he had been before. He had accepted Zander as the spirit of his rage and the sword as the spirit of his strength and power. Zander was no split personality waiting to take him over, Kimble tried to reassure himself, he was just a voice in his mind. Hopefully he would be a bit more helpful to him now that they'd made some kind of truce. The thing here was to keep his rage under control and not let Zander get out of hand.

He dressed himself and phased out of the Blackbird, dropping down silently to the floor. He was still lonely and shuffled back to the Lucky Dragon. He expected to get yelled at for the trouble in the gym, but apparently the others had kept his little mistake to themselves. Henry and Fallen were still fast at work in the shop. It was as though he'd never left, his departure hadn't even been noticed. Somehow, that hurt him even more than the ugly vibrations he'd gotten from Bobby and Wolverine. He was forgettable, useless, and in the way.

Kimble put his head down as his depression caved in on him again and he phased into the Storage Room without saying anything to anyone. He climbed up on one of the racks and pulled down a bottle of whiskey. He sat in a corner and pulled a blanket over himself before cracking open the bottle. He drank deeply and felt the alcohol warm him with it's false heat and lay his head back to sleep again This time he was determined not to have any dreams. He took another big hit off the bottle and his eyes grew heavy. He snuggled down in the blanket and dropped off, not even feeling the lonely tears that slowly dried on his cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

(Two)

The next day, Henry McCoy, the resident doctor and a most efficient man, wanted to do medical scans on all of their new guests. It was standard policy to have everyone's medial files on hand in case of emergency and it would give both him and Fallen a break from the work they doing on Seth's hologram codes, they had wasted no time and been at it for a couple of days now. This was a welcome break and long overdue. He had done Maylee already since it was assumed she was to join the ranks of the student body. That finished, he decided to do the write ups on Fallen and Kimble.

Henry sat his two subjects on the lab tables and started to put on all the scanning wires. The wires were attached to headdresses and cuffs he placed on both of their arms. Kimble thought all of this was hilarious of course. Kimble had been left pretty much on his own as Fallen and Henry did their work with Seth and had been thrilled when today Henry asked him to come down and join them. Logan had kept quiet about their little spat in the gym, Kimble hadn't been punished. Kimble was still lonely and really needed the company. Now that he had Fallen's attention, he wasn't going to waste it. He picked at all the wires hanging off of him and playfully leered at her. "I don't know, baby doll. All these wires, straps an things...I find it kinda arousin'."

Fallen snorted. "You'd find a good stiff breeze arousing, my dear."

Kimble pawed at some of the instruments nearby. He picked up one of the objects. It was long and tube like. "Do I wants ta know what this is for?"

Henry smiled, coming closer. "I'm sure someone of your 'talents' might find some interesting use for that, but for the moment that is for collecting samples."

Henry started with Fallen. He used complicated Shi'ar medical machines to scan her whole body. He found the results fascinating, Fallen's body was completely organic in spite of her radical mutations. With his superior scanning equipment, he could see that the Dognan had used body parts from another species as grafts to complete her pilot's body. Somehow, they had tricked her body into accepting the changes and the parts were not rejected. A further scan revealed that while she didn't have a true healing factor like Wolverine did, she had a mild version of one, just enough that her body didn't reject the new parts. She would probably be resistant to disease and age much more slowly -- barring any serious injury, she could live a very long time. It went along with what she had told them long ago about how she didn't get sick as often. The muscle and nerve connections were perfect and it was not easy to see that she wasn't born this way. He knew the conversion process must have been very painful and he marveled at her inner strength and will.

Beast was also able to see from the scans that her reproductive organs were indeed badly scarred and damaged, no real surprise considering her history. Whatever potions or tools she had used to abort herself so many times had damaged her permanently. He doubted that she would ever menstruate again or bear children. Considering that Seth wasn't organically alive and was unable to reproduce himself, it probably wouldn't matter anyway.

Henry was able to use Fallen's information and data on the White Lightening to help find a drug that would ease her withdrawal pains. Fortunately it was something he already had on hand and could get easily. Fallen had cut back on her use of the Lightening anyway, but didn't turn down the good doctor's offer of help to free from its grip completely.

Kimble proved to be much more difficult to scan. The instruments couldn't 'see' him because he wasn't organic. Henry tried to take some fluid samples, but was frustrated when the samples all shimmered and disappeared almost immediately. Frustrated, but not to be daunted, he made Kimble swallow a probe and had better luck. Now he could see that Kimble was actually composed of some kind of liquid energy that wasn't exclusively Ristle. It was more like he was a walking battery that only wanted for the nearest source of power to charge him. A density scan revealed that although Kimble was mostly liquid, he did have three round objects floating freely around inside of him that were solid. Fallen explained that these were hardware components from the original hologram. These were his hard drives, where his memories and files were stored.

"I'd like to compare Kimble's readings to Seth's when we get him out," Henry suggested. "It would give us a better understanding of what may have happened during the Ristle surge."

Henry took some energy readings of Fallen powering Kimble up. This was Kimble's favorite part of the exam and he made a big show of fondling Fallen and playing around. Henry used an infer-red scan as well and could see that Kimble did indeed have power receptors all over his skin. He could track how the Ristle spread through him, elevating his body temperature. He watched as Kimble grew aroused from the power, its heat spread across his skin and his body reacted to it in a similar fashion as a man being aroused by sexual desire.

"Fascinating..." Henry would whisper.

"Wants ta see me blow a load in my pants, too?" Kimble joked, laughing.

"Kimble!" Fallen scolded, giving him a playful shove.

"I suspect it's the heat from the chemical reaction that is serving you so well, my friend. Not the Ristle itself. What's interesting is that Remy was able to power you up as well even though his energy is chemically different than Fallen's. It shows me that you have options for your source of power if Fallen is not always available."

"Why don'tcha asks Gambit ta come down then fer a test, too? Fallen won't play," Kimble said. He'd grown just a bit too playful for Fallen and she pushed him back.

Kimble shivered and melted into his woman skin, having the decency to clothe herself in the tight fitting black spandex dress. She lay back over the lab table and batted her eyes at Henry. " 'Course, I ain't too particular. Blue fur could be fun, too."

Henry hadn't been able to cover his surprise when he saw Kimble shift. Kimble had still been hooked up to the scanner and Henry had watched his energy readings change. It took energy for the change and Kimble's core temperature dropped slightly. "Fascinating..." Henry repeated, enraptured.

Kimble snorted. "I kin do lots more fascinatin' things than that."

"I don't think Henry is concerned with your sexual prowess, my dear," Fallen said.

"I been good. Don' I gits a reward fer being so nice and quiet?"

Beast laughed. "Oh, yes. I almost forgot."

He got up and opened a drawer on his desk. He took out a white box and tossed a small crinkling package at the dark haired reclining woman. Kimble caught her treat easily and sniffed it. It was yellow and smelled delicious. "What is it?"

"A Twinkie."

"I suggest you unwrap it first," Fallen said with a laugh. "But you can do with it what you like."

Kimble tore at the plastic with her teeth and licked at the cake. Yummy. She bit into it and shivered from the pleasure of it, it was difficult for Kimble to hide it when she enjoyed something. She munched happily and Henry went back to his readings.

Fallen watched Kimble eat with a kind of wary unease. It was strange to see him in this skin, to be so unlike himself. She knew that as a hologram he had no real gender, but she had always regarded him primarily as male. Now it was like she was sitting next to a stranger.

Logan interrupted their little party, walking into the lab. He had some packages in his hands, mail for Henry. He squinted at the female on the lab bench and growled. "That skin's caused ya enough trouble already. I figured you'd smartin' up and put it away."

"Didn't try it on the blue fur yet," Kimble replied arrogantly, not giving Logan an inch. She looked over at Henry, but he was lost in his gathering of information.

Logan grunted a laugh. "Maybe if ya disguised yerself as a lab specimen, ya might have better luck."

Kimble sighed and returned to his pilot skin. He was full and a little sleepy from the Twinkie. "I thought I wuz, but it didn' matter I guess."

"You must forgive me, Kimble," Henry apologized. "Shape shifting energy beings have never really done it for me, I'm afraid."

"Maybe Fallen kin finds me some more skins. Never know."

"You got enough skins, boy," Logan growled. "Don't need you shiftin' all over the place, causin' all kind 'a trouble."

Wolverine had been doing his best to stay away from Kimble and put some space in between them. He was still pissed off about Kimble's comment at the dinner table two days ago, but was trying to let it go. It didn't keep him from noticing he wasn't the only one disgruntled with Kimble's behavior. He had heard Scott whining to the Professor about Kimble's roaming eyes and flirtatious manner. It was a testament to Logan's restraint that he hadn't reported the incident with Kimble in the gym, something he guessed would come up anyway. He knew it was just a matter of time before Kimble got in trouble again. He just hoped he wasn't around when it happened. He didn't like being labeled as the bad guy, let someone else have a crack at reining in Fallen's little brat.

Kimble coughed and spat up the probe, no longer in the mood to play. Henry saw the look in Kimble's eyes dim and the low slump of his wings as his spirits tanked. It was an attitude that was becoming more and more normal for him and Henry didn't like it. Beast gave Fallen a quick injection and suggested they all go for a walk.

----------------------------------

Fallen was enjoying the short hike here in the woods. Logan had decided to come along with her and Beast so she had plenty of company. Kimble had gone off a short distance ahead, but not out of sight.

The Mansion was situated at the head of a hundred acres of private land, all covered in lush woods. Whenever a neighbor's land would come up for sale, the Professor was quick to snap it up. He owned the three large houses that bordered the property and some of the other X-men on the senior staff lived there.

Fallen was a little unsteady from the medication Henry had given her to help with the Lightening. She swayed a little as she walked, but Beast was there holding her up. The late afternoon air was fresh and made her feel much better, she was happy to be outside and back into the world again.

Kimble was off ahead of them, eager to explore. He would fly ahead and bring back things he found, asking for Henry to be identify what they were. Kimble would then show them to Fallen, the Siskan was curious and filled with wonder like a grade school kid out on a field trip. Logan was not so happy about it, he and Fallen were trying to have a conversation and Kimble kept interrupting them with his questions and excitement. Logan had little patience for this man who acted like a child. After the tenth interruption, Logan snarled at him to just fly ahead and stop being a pain. Even after all this time, Wolverine still struggled to accept that this creature who looked like a grown man was nothing more than a child. He was having trouble curbing his temper and couldn't stop himself from grumbling.

Kimble was put out, but obeyed. He went a short distance ahead. He heard a rustling in some bushes and went to go check it out. He parted the branches and found himself face to face with what he thought was a cat. Kimble had never actually seen one, his experience with animals of any kind was seriously limited, but Fallen talked about them all the time. This one was pretty cool looking, it had a white stripe and everything. Kimble grinned, "Here kitty, kitty!"

Logan broke into a run when he heard Kimble shout but stopped short when the blast wave hit him -- Kimble had been skunked full in the face. He was flapping around wildly, smashing into trees and bushes as he fled from the terrible creature that had attacked him so horribly. He had his hands over his eyes and was gagging from the spray going into his mouth. He careened blindly and smashed into Logan, flooding his sensitive nose with his reek.

"You stupid asshole!" Logan shouted, dumping Kimble off of him.

"Help me! Help me!" Kimble cried, flailing about. Tears streamed from his eyes in a flood.

Fallen and Henry came up behind Logan, concerned at first, but then laughing wildly at the whole thing.

"Glad you think it's funny!" Logan complained. He stood with his arms spread out, gagging himself from the stink.

"Fallen!" Kimble begged, holding his hands out and seeking the comfort of his Mistress.

She backed away, giggling. "Oh no, you don't! You keep that to yourself!"

"I cain't see!"

"It wears off, buddy," Logan said without sympathy.

Logan led them to a nearby stream and stood by while Kimble washed his face and rinsed out his eyes and mouth. Kimble was better afterwards, but still miserable. They made him walk behind them back to the house, but even so, Logan was reeking from when Kimble had slammed him. They got to the house and Logan stripped down to his underwear. He dragged out an old washtub and made Kimble get into it. He used an old bottle of dog soap to wash Kimble down. He'd wanted Fallen to clean Kimble up, he was her problem, but then he figured he was already stinky so he may as well do it.

He was not gentle. Kimble sat still, miserable and whimpering as Logan used a washrag to scrub away at his sensitive skin. When he complained, Logan told him to shut up and stop being a baby. Kimble was whining softly and looking to Fallen, but she could hardly stop herself from laughing. Kimble's chemical nature allowed for partial absorption of the oils in the skunk spray, he was going to stink badly for a while. This bath would help but it certainly wasn't going to rid Kimble of this terrible stink.

Kimble's skin was raw and aching when Logan was done. He wanted Fallen to repair him, but she figured the sting would remind him to be more careful. When he was finally released, he fled to one of the nearby outbuildings. He saw it was a barn and flew up to the loft to bury himself in the sweet smelling hay, his whole body hurting from the abuse.

He came slinking back to the house a few hours later but everyone complained about his stink and avoided him. He finally crawled into the Storage Room and hid some more among the bins, crying softly. It wasn't his fault he didn't know what a skunk was. This was so unfair. He curled up and did his best to sleep, but the stink of his own body and his stinging skin made that impossible. He just put his head down and whimpered.

At first Logan was angry over the whole thing, but then realized that now he could actually track Kimble by scent. He just had to follow the skunk. He was getting a sick kick out of Kimble's misery. _Serves the little bugger right_, he figured. _Teach him to be a little more in control_. He wasn't a child even though he acted like one.


	3. Chapter 3

(Three)

The next day, Kimble spent most of his time hiding out. Whenever he came close to anyone, they complained about his smell and so he hid himself away, even more miserable and lonely than he had been before. He shivered and whimpered in the dark of the Storage Room until he had no choice but to go to Fallen and feed. He was low on power when he finally sought her out. He found Fallen and Henry in Lucky's shop, they'd been fruitlessly pouring over Seth's codes for hours and were too busy to notice Kimble immediately as he entered. He stood behind Fallen and gently set his hands on her shoulders, looking over her head to see what she was working on.

Fallen sniffed. "Ughh! You stink!" she complained before she jumped from his energy starved body taking a decent sized hit of Ristle. It wasn't enough to take her to the Black Room but it hadn't been a casual draw.

He stepped back when she turned on him in anger. "Whoa, easy there, kid. I didn' know it'd been so long," he lied.

Her face softened when she saw his contrition. "It's all right. Just don't sneak up on me like that."

"I didn' sneaks up on ya. How kin I when evrabody sez I stink! You wuz jus' busy, is all. Not my fault you ain't payin' attention," he said with a pout, the familiar slump of his dispirited wings back in place. He hadn't been holding up well under all of the censure and criticism he'd received from his little accident. It wasn't his fault that he didn't know what a skunk was, but nobody seemed to care.

"Look, I know you're bored, but I'd really like to get this done." She reached down beside the bench. "Henry brought these for you. Why don't you try them out." She handed him a pair of roller blades. They were used skates with the name Jubilee written on the sides but he didn't mind.

Kimble's face lit up at the idea of something to do. "Well, all right! Will ya come watch me?"

"In a little while. It'll take you some time to figure them out anyway. Have fun."

He looked at Henry and bowed slightly. "Thanks."

"Not a problem. I hope you enjoy them."

Both Beast and Fallen turned back to their work and Kimble was as good as alone again. He took his new toy and slowly walked out, looking back at them. They'd been at this for a while now and weren't making much progress. This little project was turning into a major operation, Kimble had been left completely alone even before the skunk incident and was running out of things to do. He knew it was important to Fallen and tried to stay out their way.

Kimble had hoped Remy might come by to see him, but the thief had been busy. The brief times Gambit had come to check in on him, he hadn't stayed long. Remy was trying to juggle a strict workout schedule with his new squad as well as doing a little spying on his own at night, trying to get some lead on Jael. Kimble understood that Remy had a job, but he still missed his friend. He hoped Gambit wouldn't stay away long.

Happy now with something to do, Kimble walked out of the Lucky Dragon, grabbing a boom box on the way out. It had a matching Jubilee scribble on one side, Kimble was getting a lot of her hand me downs. He decided to practice outside and so went up through the house and out to a large paved area behind the school. He sat on the grass at the edge of the pavement and put on the skates. They didn't fit his pawed feet, but he could morph himself enough to keep them on. He turned on some music and tried to figure out what to do. It was helpful that he was telekinetic now, he didn't fall as hard. He was getting warm and decided to shift his pants into a pair of skin tight spandex shorts. He was still shuffling around when he heard the sound of popping gum.

He looked up and saw a young Asian girl watching him, one of the students here. He hadn't met many of the students here yet because they weren't allowed down in the lower levels where he spent most of his time. She was very young, maybe sixteen or so by his guess, and very pretty. She smiled at him as her eyes lingered over his lean, muscular body. His shorts were tight and left very little to the imagination. "Nice skates," she said, popping her gum again.

He beamed his most charming smile, warming instantly under the scrutiny. He could see she thought he was pretty and he was quick to preen a little for her, turning just slightly to offer her the best view of his body and turning on the charm. "Thanks. They's really great. But I don' think they's workin' too good."

"Another red neck," she teased pleasantly, commenting on his accent. "The only thing not working is you." She walked over and took his hands, pulling him carefully along the pavement. "Push with your feet, stupid."

He looked her over and liked what he saw. Her skin was a light almond brown and her hair was long and pretty. He was amused by the slant of her eyes, none of the others he'd seen here looked like her. He did as she commanded and was skating a little better, hoping only to please her. "What's yer name?" he asked, trying to entice her to stay with him a while.

"Holly."

"That shure is pretty. Kinda like you. Pretty, I mean."

"Oh, you're a smooth one. And who are you supposed to be? King of the Helpless Gargoyles?"

"Name's Kimble."

"Well... Kimble...on top of being a lousy skater, you stink."

Kimble grunted a laugh. "Got skunked."

"I can tell. Do I want to know how that happened?"

"Prob'ly not," he answered, smiling at her in a deliberate tease, knowing it made him all the more beautiful. "S' kinda embarrasin'."

His charms were working, she smiled back at him and said, "Okay...I can't help you from stinking, but at least I can show you to skate. Wait here."

She left him and returned from the house a few moments later with skates of her own. She skated up to him and he watched her feet. He saw how she was skating as she approached him and realized where he was going wrong. He gasped as she suddenly sprayed him with perfume. He gagged a little and stood with his arms out, lost in a cloud of sweet smelling air. She laughed at him, sending a thrill right through him, he loved to hear a woman laugh, especially when it involved him.

He sniffed at himself. "What wuz that?"

"Skunk relief," she giggled.

"Now I smells pretty like you," he said, trying to make her laugh again. It worked. He grinned as she took his hands again and she showed him how to skate. He'd already figured it out just by watching her, but he pretended to struggle a little so she would stay. He hadn't realized just how lonely he was until she had come along and he enjoyed her company immensely. He listened to her babble on about everything from school to the Professor with great interest.

"Are you a student here?" Holly asked him.

"Naw, just visitin'."

She looked over his pilot's body again, liking the look of him. "Do you have any powers besides looking so handsome?"

Kimble almost shivered from her observation of him. He wanted her badly now but didn't want to frighten her. "I kin fly. How 'bout you?"

"I can make rain."

"Really? Show me."

"Out here? I thought you wanted to skate."

"I don' mind gitten wet."

"All right." She concentrated and a tiny cloud formed and shimmered over them. It was small, only covering the two of them. A light gentle mist trickled down. Just enough to cling to her tight shirt, revealing her breasts to him. Kimble's hands started to tremble slightly. She noticed and laughed. She was young and her youth made her reckless. She thought him handsome and rather liked the attention he was giving her. "It's not as good as what Storm can do, but maybe with enough practice it will be."

"I likes it well enough," Kimble replied, eager to please her.

"Flying sounds like much more fun, I think," she said. The cloud broke up and the warm sun beamed down on them, drying the puddle she'd made.

"Maybe I kin takes ya up there. Ain't never flown nobody. Could be fun."

"How about after supper? I have to go to class now."

"All right."

"I'll see you then." She leaned in to politely kiss him.

He accepted her kiss, but impulsively turned her head and took more, pulling her in close to taste her tongue. She didn't fight him, but slipped her arms around his neck. His touch was intoxicating to her and she'd never been kissed like that before. She broke off from his kiss to look into his pale blue eyes. She saw him smile at her and she was enchanted by his glowing skin and preternatural beauty. She was young and had no mental defenses against his unconscious spell. His desire backwashed into her as it had Bobby and she was lost. She let him kiss her again and swooned in his embrace, succumbing to his seduction quickly.

Kimble felt her submission and let his passion loose. He slid a hand gently up her shirt and squeezed her breast, shivering with excitement as he felt her nipple harden under his fingertips. He heard her low moan of arousal and then her shine was suddenly bright and warm as it flooded into him. He was trembling even more now, thrilled he'd finally found someone receptive to his advances. He looked around him in between kisses, looking for a place to take her. The tree line wasn't far.

-------------------------

Logan walked out of the house, jingling his motorcycle keys in one hand. The wind shifted and he caught the smell of skunk. It was covered in perfume which made him even more suspicious. He sniffed again and caught Holly's smell with it this time. She was some distance away, but even he could pick up her arousal. He walked away from the house to get a better view of the playground. He saw Kimble making out with Holly, his hands all over her, and freaked.

"Hey! What the hell do ya think yer doin'!" Wolverine hollered and ran over, furious.

Holly saw him coming and squeaked in fear. All the students knew Wolverine, he was as much respected as he was feared. She looked back at Kimble and blinked in confusion. Was she just making out with him? Why was his hand up her shirt?

Kimble stood just as dumbfounded, he didn't know what the fuss was about either. Just like with Bobby, he hadn't done anything Holly hadn't wanted him to. He slid back awkwardly on his skates when Logan immediately got in his face, screaming. Logan's hate and rage blasted into Kimble with his voice and his overly bright shine, making Kimble wince.

"What do ya think yer doin'! She's just a kid! You keep yer filthy paws offa her!" Logan bellowed as his rage exploded. He had noticed Holly's bewilderment and knew Kimble had been working her with his charm power or whatever the fuck it was he'd used on Bobby to pull him under his spell. This boy was getting so out of hand.

Kimble looked at Holly's pretty face and fine beautiful breasts. He hadn't considered her age. It just had never been an issue for him before. She'd been receptive and unafraid. He hadn't been fully aware of how he'd affected her. "What? Look at her. She ain't no kid no more!" he argued in his defense.

Logan turned on Holly, not wanting her to see him pound Kimble into the pavement. It was becoming an ever present possibility considering Kimble's inability to see reason. "Get back in the house. I'll talk to you later."

Holly fled.

Logan returned his heat back to Kimble. "What are ya? Fuckin' blind? She ain't even fifteen! You stay away from her, ya hear me? You stay away from all the students here! They ain't playthings fer you! You take your pathetic little hormones and stay in the hanger! You wanna skate? There's plenty of room there!" He gave Kimble a shove. "Yer fuckin' pathetic, ya know that? First Bobby, now her! What the fuck is yer problem, huh? I let you get off the first time, but ya don't learn from nuthin'! You'll be hearin' about this, don't you worry. Get back in the fuckin' house, now!"

Kimble backed off in a huff, but was a little shaken. He had no idea Holly had been that young. He took off his skates and grabbed the radio, withering under Logan's burning stare and painful vibrations. He went back into the house through a different door than Holly had taken and went back down to the ship. He knew he was going to hear about this from Fallen and he was right. She waiting for him on the ramp, her arms crossed and eyes blazing. He held his hands up in surrender. "Wait! I kin explains..."

"Get inside!" she hissed and he obeyed, his head down.

They went into the galley and he stood silent while she made his ears almost bleed from her wrath and verbal abuse. He didn't try to argue, he knew it wouldn't help. He understood that she was afraid he would pull something stupid like this again and they would be forced to leave. She wouldn't free him until he promised to stay in the lower levels and away from the students, regardless of gender. They were off limits, period.

Once released, Kimble fled once more to the Storage Room and hid among the bins there. He stayed there for a long time, feeling miserable and worthless. The phone rang that Fallen had installed as an intercom between the house and the ship. He listened to Fallen make excuses for him and was embarrassed and humiliated for her. He felt awful and cried silently, covering his face with his hands. He hadn't wanted to cause anyone pain. He just wanted to have a little fun, nothing more. They'd been here for days now and Kimble still hadn't gotten any relief for his pent up sexual frustration. How could he help himself when everyone here was so pretty and fit? Really, all these alphas were so beautiful. He would just have to be much more careful from now on and stay out of trouble. He would do it for her.

He fell asleep and suffered more troubling dreams. He was running through the darkness, the hidden female figure always a pace behind. Zander had grown fond of this new game and was using it to torment him, Kimble was sure of it. Zander loved to fuck with Kimble, he'd had a grand old time with him on the trip here, driving Kimble nearly insane. It was the reintegration of his lost memories that gave Kimble the strength enough to throw off Zander's hold on him before. Apparently, Zander wanted to up the ante. This new game was more than Kimble could stand. He was always in the circle of light in the Black Room, unable to see who was there. He only knew when Zander's ghost was getting closer by the smell. She stank of the sewer, reeking of untold filth and grime.

Kimble whimpered in his sleep and twitched, clutching at himself as he balled up in terror. He woke, trembling and scared, but was still too humiliated to come out of the Storage Room right away. He wanted Fallen to hold him and make all this go away, but she had just finished yelling at him and probably didn't want him around. He finished off the bottle of whiskey he started the other day and sat in the dark of the room, his only solace the crack of light that came from under the door.

It was hours later when he came slinking out of the Storage Room. He saw Fallen alone at the shop bench. Henry had left for supper, but would be back in an hour or so. Now alone, Fallen let her defenses down and her bitter disappointment in Kimble was plain to see. She had her own bottle of whiskey out and he could see she'd been crying. He had frightened her badly. She didn't want to be forced to leave before Seth was freed.

Kimble went to her and knelt in front of her, completely submissive. "I'm so sorry, Fallen. I won' do it again, I promise. Don' be mad at me, please," he pleaded.

"It's all right," she whispered in a raspy voice and lay her hand on his head. "I know how you are...what you are. I should have known this would happen. But it's official now, you're on a temporary probation. They won't let you up at the school with the students, Kimble. Not for a while. Not until they know you can behave."

He shook with renewed humiliation and self loathing. "I'm sorry...You kin trusts me, Fallen...I'll be good from now on, I swears." He looked up at her, his eyes wet.

She saw his sincerity and smiled at him, loving him and forgiving him. "I believe you."

She was lying and he knew it.

"I'll makes it up to ya, Fallen. I will." He grabbed for the shop knife again, but she stopped him. "Please, Fallen. I don' wantcha ta be so sad."

She released him and let him cut himself for her. Let him bleed himself for her. She took him into her arms and accepted his gift. She wanted Seth's comfort to allay her fears and he was there for her. She fell into Seth's embrace in the Black Room and blocked out the stress and pain of the real world. Kimble's weight next to her didn't let her completely forget, but Seth's love was a better escape than any other drug she'd ever pumped into her body. She gave into him completely and let the world around her slip away.

--------------------------------------------------

After Fallen woke from the Black Room, she felt refreshed and decided Kimble's promises to be good probably weren't going to be good enough for her peace of mind. Clearly he had too much time on his hands. She would keep him busy, she would make him work off his frustration and so gave him a list of chores to do.

Kimble accepted his new duties without complaint, hoping only to please his distressed Mistress. He was now up on the hull of the Lucky Dragon working. He held a light bar in one hand and wore special glasses over his eyes. The light bar showed tiny holes and cracks in the outer surface of the ship. Kimble was looking Lucky over for damage that might have occurred on their journey here, this was proper procedure after any space flight. He had never done this before but a quick read of the maintenance files taught him how. He was taking advantage of opportunity and was practicing with his mild telekinesis to hold his body in place instead of using a working harness and scaffolding.

Kimble looked down in surprise when he felt someone knock on the side of the ship below him. It was Scott and he had some papers in his hand. Kimble awkwardly jumped down, using his power to land gently if not gracefully. He smiled warily at his visitor, suspicious now of any of the senior staff. He was polite as he asked, "Hey. What's up?"

"Can you spare a moment? I have some papers for you to look over."

Kimble cocked his head in curiosity. Why would anyone have papers for him? He took the papers from Scott and his eyes grew a little cold when he saw what they were. Really, hadn't he been humiliated enough? It seemed not. "Yer Scott Summers, huh? Cyclops. Yer the Professor's Second."

"That's right," Scott replied, making a small face and wiping at his nose. Kimble was still quite rank from the skunk incident and it wasn't pleasant having him so close. The combination of Holly's perfume only made it worse and was an unpleasant reminder to him of Kimble's indiscretion.

Scott Summers was as good as second in Command here even if he hadn't been specifically titled with that rank. He helped to administer to the school and often handled small matters such as the one he was here to take care of now. "I know you're not a student here, Kimble, but since you are going to be here a while, we felt that perhaps you needed a little guidance on the rules of the place. We do have a lot of issues with security and a large number of people live here. We have rules. Rules are here for the safety of all of us and the security of this facility. These papers are standard issue for all of our students and anyone who might come here for training. I hope they will aid you in your transition here." He slid out one paper in particular and set it on the top of the stack. The heading was Sexual Harassment. "Please read **all** of these papers and sign them. You can give them to Henry or myself when you are finished."

This had been an unpleasant chore for Cyclops. Scott generally tried to be open to new people and did his best not to judge them on rumors. But Logan had come to him positively fuming over what Kimble had done and Scott knew this little problem had to be taken care of quickly and hopefully discreetly. Scott wanted this taken care of early. He thought that maybe just pointing out the rules might be answer enough to the trouble, but he had doubts. Kimble was attached to Gambit now in some way and Scott couldn't help but start to feel some of his unease with Gambit rub off Kimble's way. It seemed the two shared a promiscuous nature if all the rumors about Remy were to be believed. Scott was a private man, disapproved of promiscuity in any form, and felt that sex didn't belong out in the open or among the student body. He certainly hoped the thief wasn't teaching his mechanical friend that such things were okay here. If Remy wasn't up to the task of setting the Siskan straight than he would.

Of course it hadn't helped that Jean had admitted that Kimble had made a pass at her. The last thing Scott needed was yet another man trying to make good with his wife. The whole idea of this was distasteful to him and he couldn't help but let some of it leak out in a sneer. "You can read, right?"

Kimble shivered, feeling all of Scott's disgust and loathing come at him in a painful vibration. The man was trying to put on a good face, but Kimble was much too intuitive to be fooled by Scott's saccharine politeness. He understood that Cyclops had made up his mind about his worth early on and the pilot knew it wasn't real high. It raised his ire even further and he clenched his hands, crumpling up the papers a bit. "Yeah, I kin reads," he replied with an irritated growl.

"Good. Don't take too long with them," Cyclops replied, ready to be done with this. He gave Kimble another smug little smile, confident this would settle the matter, and walked away back to the tram.

Kimble held the papers and began to tremble with rage. He started to scrunch the papers up completely in defiance, but then thought better of it. He remembered Remy's warning about the peer groups here. If he wanted acceptance, he would have to try and work with these people. He had to try for Fallen and Seth's sake, too. He didn't want his Mistress to cry over his stupid mistakes again.

Kimble stomped into the ship and crawled onto Fallen's bed in the cage. It was stale and cold here because Fallen never slept in it anymore, she preferred now to stay in the shop to be closer to Seth and the computers they were using to free him. Kimble curled up and blinked as angry tears squeezed out of his eyes. A quick scan of the papers revealed quickly the true message here. _Kimble be good. Kimble be quiet. Kimble don't play. Kimble don't touch my wife. _

Kimble groaned and rolled over, burying his face in the pillow. He was going to go crazy here. Other than not being beaten, this place wasn't much better than Clan Station Nine. All work and no play. He'd been trying to get by taking some pleasure with himself, but even that tiny comfort had worn thin a long time ago. He was going to have to do something soon or he was going to explode. For the first time, Kimble began to consider the possibility of sneaking off of the grounds.

'_Bout time you wised up_. Zander cackled from somewhere inside his mind.

Kimble startled. He didn't expect to hear from Zander while he was awake. It hadn't happened before. "Shut up. You ain't real."

_I'm real enough ta know what yer thinkin'...an' what yer dreamin'._ Zander continued, undaunted. _I toldja they wasn't ever gonna accepts ya._ _So far all they done is proves me right._ _No one's gonna fuck ya here, use ya like you been made for. Certainly not that sweet Cajun thing ya got yer eye on. Ya wanna git yerself some? We gotta take our act outside._

"Cain't leaves. I needs ta power up too often."

_How long can ya go, huh? Have ya even tried ta find out?_

"No...not really."

_Figgers. The first trick ta survivin', kid, is findin' out what yer weaknesses are. Stop lettin' these stupid alphas push ya around!_ _Ya see whatcha want? Fuckin' take it! Stop bein' such a baby. You ain't as weak as ya think ya are!_

Kimble couldn't fight Zander's logic. He still wanted to believe Zander wasn't real, he was just a voice in his mind helping him think. A kind of sub-personality. To think otherwise was to go down a path he wasn't ready to tackle just yet. Still, he could feel Zander in his mind like a real presence growing stronger all the time. Zander was strong and chafed against the restraints Kimble now found himself in. Kimble decided he would look to Zander for advice, but he wasn't about to let that strong spirit take him over. He was just too dangerous. Zander was his rage and the ultimate expression of his power. He couldn't control either one and so had to keep holding his rage and Zander in check.

----------------------------------------

Later that night, Kimble smiled to himself when he heard Henry finally leave for the day. Kimble had been hovering around waiting for him to leave so Fallen would be free to play with him. Her mood had improved after her visit with Seth and he was hoping she wasn't mad at him anymore. Kimble figured a little playtime would make him feel better and make Zander's rage cool a bit. He went down to the shop, but was disappointed when he saw Fallen curled up on the shop bed. He could tell by her breathing that she was almost asleep. They had been working hard all day and most of the night and she was clearly exhausted. Kimble stood over her, pouting quietly. He missed his Mistress terribly, but didn't want to wake her up.

He shuffled back to Fallen's bed in the cage, his head down and a little sad. He sat down on the bed and stared off into space before closing his eyes and activating his telepathic link with the ship, he'd decided to look for Seth. Maybe his brother would want to play. Kimble was distressed to discover he really only had access to the Black Room and that was it. He couldn't go to the control room where Seth was working. Frustrated, he walked into the empty circle of light of the Black Room and called out to his brother.

It took three times, but finally his shouts were was answered. Seth dropped down into the light and greeted his brother. "Hey, Kimble. What's wrong?"

Kimble smiled, warmed by Seth's presence. He'd almost forgotten what he looked like. He'd missed Seth as much as he'd missed Fallen and couldn't hide it. "Nuthin's wrong. I just wanted ta know if ya wanted ta play chess or sumpthin'."

Seth fidgeted. He wanted to get back to work and had no time to play. He was distracted by all he had to do and didn't notice Kimble's loneliness. "I can't right now. I've got to crunch the numbers from all the work we did today. We lost some time because of...of well, your getting Fallen upset. Why don't you come back in a little while. Maybe I'll be done by then."

"Shure," Kimble said, grinning to hide his pain. The reminder of his fucking up brought back a fresh blast of humiliation. He could also see Seth had better things to do. It was pretty sad when his brother who slept even less than he did was too busy to play. It seemed like no one had time for him anymore.

"Good. I'll see you later."

Seth flew off, eager to return to work and Kimble was alone again.

Kimble backed out of the light and exited the system, feeling even more lonely than before. He left the cage and walked out of the ship, not quite sure what to do with himself now. He made his way to the lower level and then phased up through the floor into the house. It was now quite late and the house was quiet. Kimble snuck upstairs, avoiding the senior alphas who disliked him so, and crept into Gambit's room. The bed was rumpled but empty, Remy had gone off to work and wasn't around. Spying and thieving was night time work.

Defeated again, Kimble crawled into Remy's bed, wanting to smell him and not feel so all alone. What was he going to do?

_Leave, Kimble. _Zander insisted again. _Make yerself strong and leave this place._

Kimble didn't answer but sat up and picked up one of Remy's discarded shirts. It had his smell on it and Kimble buried his face in it. Now that he was home, Remy wore an aftershave that Kimble really liked. He'd grown to associate that smell with his friend and having fun. Remy had made an effort to spend time with him, even if it wasn't for long –a card game here, a pool game there squeezed in between Gambit's workout sessions with his new squad and the work he did at night. At least Gambit went out of his way to brighten Kimble's day and the Siskan appreciated every moment of it.

Kimble wished in the worst way that Remy would give himself to him, willing it to happen as if it was one of his powers. Kimble wanted him so bad it hurt deep inside and he winced a little. One good blast of red hot love and passion would ease this terrible emptiness inside of him that was growing bigger by the day. He was so alone...so alone. Kimble knew his feeble dream just wasn't going to happen and it made him cry again. He knew this was stupid, to think about his friend this way, but Remy was the only one who even paid attention to him so it was natural for him to latch onto that love and want to keep it close.

He left the empty room, taking Remy's shirt with him and returned to the ship. He crawled into a distant corner in the Storage Room, his new hiding place, and curled up, the shirt under his head and let his mind go in a gentle daydream of love and passion. A smile teased the corner of his lips and he slipped off into sleep. The shirt was like a magic talisman. When he dreamed this time of Zander's ghost, he slipped on the shirt and felt Remy's powerful love, claiming it for himself. The girl departed quickly, banished for the moment. Kimble laughed and curled up, dreaming instead of those ruby red eyes and quick nimble hands. He shivered with arousal and dropped off deeper, completely asleep now and free.


	4. Chapter 4

(Four)

While Kimble was off sneaking into his room, Gambit was miles away and hard at work. He walked into Barry's, a local bar filled with the less savory members of Salem Center's population. Remy would never admit to this back at the Mansion, but truth be told, he would always feel more at home with the dregs of society like these than with the stiff upper crowd of Xavier's Inner Circle. Most of the people here knew little about the Morlock Massacre and even less about his role in it. He could walk freely here without judgement.

Remy sniffed deeply, happily taking in the reek of stale beer and unwashed bodies. He was at home and back in his element, his years as an impoverished thief would never leave him. His lack of mental shields not withstanding, he was feeling pretty good, he sensed no real threat here. He made his way to the back of the bar, closest to the jukebox, and took a seat at his usual booth there. In the corner like this, he had full view of the room with nothing at his back. It was the safest place.

Not that he couldn't brawl his way out of here if he wanted to. He might be a little behind on his physical stats back at the house, but in here? He could take any one of them with his eyes closed and his hands tied.

Two drinks in and a plate of greasy yet satisfying chicken wings later, Remy finally spotted what he was looking for. He smiled when he saw Gina walk in and notice him. Without him saying a word, she came right over and slid into the seat opposite him. "Hey there, handsome. Long time no see," she greeted, sliding her hand across the table to cover his.

Remy let her touch him. Gina was one of his best contacts amongst the prostitute population and he had been one of her favorite customers. The rumors Cyclops had heard about Remy's promiscuity were quite true -- given the chance to roam, the thief took full advantage of it and knew most of the girls here pretty well. Of them all Gina was his favorite. She was blond and vivacious, quick to laugh and seldom depressed or mopey even though her life had to be the pits. She was a decent dresser for her profession and had long dangling earrings that clinked happily as she moved. Many times when Rogue booted him out, it was Gina he went to see. Gina was safe and the furthest thing from committed. He could tumble with her and never have to worry about her following him around asking for more than he was willing to give. She was also quite talkative. She served many seedy characters besides him and she often passed information onto him, helping him in ways she never realized.

But today, all he was seeking was news. Yes, Rogue had distressed him, but as much as that had hurt, he wasn't quite ready to play around just yet. "Been away," he answered evasively, taking her hand and rubbing his thumb over the back of it, soft and gentle.

Gina wasn't fooled. There was deep pain in his eyes and she had an idea he wasn't going to be as receptive as she would have liked. She knew that he had a girl somewhere that he was fond of, one that sent him back to her more than once, but never for long. She had always knew that Remy's heart was spoken for, something that hadn't changed in all the time she had known him. Gina thought that perhaps if she could make him happy, he might at least change his mind about a little fooling around. "Been a happenin' place since you been gone. You'll never guess who I saw come in just a couple of nights ago."

Remy bit. He gestured to the waitress for a drink for the lady and settled back into his seat. "Really? Who's dat?"

"Kyle Franks."

Remy arched an eyebrow at that. He had heard of the name though he had never met the man. Kyle Franks was a recruiter for the Freedom Kings, an anti-human mutant group that had been growing steadily stronger over the past year. They weren't in Jael's class by far, they were mostly all blab and no action, but everyone at Xavier's knew that could change at any time. Lately Kyle had been snapping up new and powerful mutants before Charles could get a hold of them. Just before Gambit had been taken to Cerise, the Professor had been complaining that the Freedom Kings must have some kind of precog or a Seeker, someone who could sense new mutants emerging in much the same way the Professor did. It was disheartening to lose to the Kings, the mutants that joined them would be corrupted or eventually end up in prison. Charles would rather have them fighting with him instead of against him.

Gambit knew something else about Kyle Franks. Kyle was a powerful telekinetic who had once spent some time at the Mansion. Kyle was close to being the top of his power class, not only did he have powerful shields, he could create spikes. The same way Fallen or Jean could harden the air around them to offer protection, Kyle could do that and more. He actually made the air solid and could have it stay that way indefinitely, a talent that teetered him almost into the omega class of telekinetic. He could create weapons from thin air, making him a significant find. Problem was, Kyle had constantly struggled with the idea that there could be peaceful relations between humans and mutants, and his faith had ebbed away with each new act of horrific violence against his kind.

Kyle eventually bailed, leaving the X-men not long before Storm had brought Remy in. They had never met but Remy was fully aware of just who Kyle Franks was. If he was hanging around here, that meant there must be someone here he was looking for. While not exactly news about Jael, it was something he would have to report.

"You seen anyone else? Razel or Marcus?" Remy asked next, smiling as Gina picked casually through the remains on his plate. Razel and Marcus worked for Jael, the closest anyone had ever gotten to seeing the man himself.

"Buy me a plate and I'll tell you," she answered, all Remy had left was bones.

"Like you even gotta ask, chere," he replied, pretending hurt as he gestured to the waitress who brought Gina's drink to bring another plate. He knew Gina had no money and a really bad drug habit. He would have fed her without her asking if he hadn't been so distracted with his thoughts.

Gina waited until the food had come, smiling hungrily as it was placed before her. Gambit let her eat without interruption. He had sympathy for her and her situation and they were more than just contacts to one another, she had sometimes allowed him to use her without payment just because he was one of the few men she knew that didn't make her feel like trash.

Gina finished eating and sipped at her beer, satisfied now. "Razel's been in town, sniffing around, but he won't let anyone near him, you know how he hates to use us girls. But Marcus hasn't been so shy. He's been with Maggie."

Remy nodded taking mental notes. Razel was a snob, he wouldn't dare let such polluted women near him, but Marcus wasn't so timid. Of course Marcus had an excuse, while he and Razel were both mutants, Marcus couldn't pass for normal and so had limited means of acquiring companionship. He wasn't ugly by any means, he had the wings of an angel and a kindly face, but his heart was hard. Barry's didn't care if mutants came here, they also allowed bikers and drug dealers, so what was a few oddities among them?

Gambit smiled at Gina, happy with her offerings. The message was clear, someone was being sought after by more than one mutant group. Perhaps if he could find out who Jael wanted, he might find Jael himself.

----------------------------

Remy walked into the hanger bay, his eyes burning and tired. He had left the Institute shortly after supper the day before yesterday and had no sleep. He had a pounding headache now and his stomach hurt from drinking more than he probably should have. He had left Gina behind hours ago -- well fed but unsatisfied in the matter of his personal company -- and had tried a few other places to get information. He hadn't met with any success, his efforts to find Jael's exact location were in vain. The man was like the wind, a whisper in the shadows. Crazy elusive, the ultimate frustration ---- and the ultimate challenge. Gambit was even more determined now to find the bastard. He had to find the creep just to maintain his reputation.

Remy found the Professor next to the newest Blackbird jet to arrive. It had been delivered only just this morning and Scott and Henry were looking it over. Remy was surprised to see Logan standing by, his arms crossed casually. Standing next to him was Kennedy, another one of the Professor's spies and one of the few non-mutants that were X-men allies. Kennedy was a large man, a natural brawler and one of the few men Logan respected. It was probably because they were both so much alike. Kennedy was well built and strong, covered with tattoos. He was dressed in his usual black leather and steel toed boots. He had a large caliber hand gun in a harness around his chest. The Professor didn't generally allow guns in the house, but Kennedy didn't lay his guns down for anyone. Kennedy was whispering to Logan but the X-man wasn't really listening, he kept turning around the other way to keep his eyes on the Lucky Dragon.

Fallen and Kimble were nearby, outside the ramp organizing some building supplies. Henry had been successful in selling the gems Fallen had given him and she had used part of the money to buy some metal framing and sheet rock. She figured a nice little project for Kimble would be to reorganize the barracks room into two separate bedrooms for himself and Maylee. Maylee had been accepted to the school and given a room in the student's dorm to be closer to her classes, but Fallen still wanted her to have her own space on the Dragon if she wanted to stay over. Fallen stood now next to the materials on a large hand cart, using a checklist to make sure everything was there.

Kimble stood by, his hands on his hips and his head down, not looking at anyone. Gambit just knew Kimble had gotten busted for something, it was in his submissive posture and the low droop of his wings. Remy sighed with impatience, not even close to being ready to hear more bad news.

The Professor heard him arrive and turned to face him. "Ah, Gambit. You've got some good news for me, I hope?"

"Mebbe yes, mebbe non. Nuthin' on where Jael is."

"Sure yer not pushin' a little hard?" Logan growled, noting the tiredness in Remy's face.

"I'm fine. Got a couple more t'ings to check out."

"You go down to Barry's?" Kennedy asked, offering his hand for Remy to shake. Kennedy was one of the few who cared less about Gambit's poor reputation. He and Gambit often went to Barry's. Both Kennedy and Remy hung out there and their drinking contests were well known, they were both sneaks and ran in the same circles.

"Oui. No dice so far as locatin' Jael." Remy replied, shaking Kennedy's hand and giving him a small smile. It had been a while since he'd seen him, Remy had gone looking for him last night but had just missed him. "But de word is 'e might be lookin' fo' sumptin'. Kyle Franks come in from Los Angeles just last week. 'E been sniffin' around. Marcus and Razel, too. Sumptin's definitely up."

"Got the word Sabretooth and Davis are scouting around, too. Not so close as Barry's, but over at Signals and Cheesy Paul's," Kennedy offered, mentioning two popular clubs closer to New York City. He had gone snooping around for information just as Gambit had. Sabretooth and Davis digging around brought a third mutant group into play. This was getting more interesting by the minute.

"Chancy and Berris got busted by S.H.I.E.L.D two days ago," Logan said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin as he mulled over the possibilities of all of these new facts.

SHIELD, or Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistic Directorate, was a government agency that handled all kinds of criminal activity, including those involving the more powerful mutant threats, a sort of mutant police. They ran a high security mutant prison facility along with controlling other secret mutant weapon groups in their fight against mutant terrorism. The X-men did not fight the bad guys alone, they often worked co-operatively with SHIELD. The two men Wolverine had mentioned were not only trackers, but high up on the mutant Ten Most Wanted list for violent offenders and members of the Mutant Brotherhood, a terrorist group even more brutal than Jael's.

"Four teams from four different factions. These men are all Seekers, hunters," the Professor commented, thinking out loud. "The hounds are circling. Somebody's definitely looking for something."

"Maybe we should be, too," Wolverine growled.

Remy just shook his head. He wasn't exactly disagreeing, but said, " 'Ard to look for sumptin' when you don' know what it is, mon amis."

Logan met Gambit's eyes. "Guess we're gonna hafta find out what it is."

"D'accorde, patron, but Gambit gonna find out tomorrow. He dead dog tired, man." Remy glanced over to where Kimble stood passively by as Fallen finished checking over her delivery. He paused only a moment before inquiring, "What's up wit Kimble?"

_Damn, that boy's perceptive_, Logan thought to himself. _He didn't miss that one in spite of being so tired._ "Caught him pawin' up Holly Mercer yesterday."

"And?" Remy snapped. He had no clue who Logan was talking about.

"She's fourteen."

"Nice guy," Kennedy sneered, giving Kimble a hard look.

Remy groaned inwardly and winced, feeling his headache spike painfully into near migraine territory. He felt a surge of anger at Kimble's foolishness and couldn't help a growl of impatience. How was he going to help Kimble if the guy couldn't stay in line?

Kimble suddenly flinched and turned around, startled. He'd sensed Remy's vibration of anger from across the hanger and looked to see who it was that was pissed at him now. He realized it was Gambit and understood from the look on Remy's face that he'd just been told what he'd done. Kimble shivered and wilted from the pain and yanked on the handcart, pulling it up in to the ship, wanting only to get away. Fallen startled a little at Kimble's movement and looked across to Remy. She smiled and waved at him, oblivious to what had just passed between the two friends.

The Professor wasn't so blind. _Kimble felt that_, he thought to himself. _How very interesting_. It reminded him that he'd observed Kimble 'feeling' the mood of others before. Kimble was an empath he'd been told, how silly of him to have forgotten. Funny how it was Gambit's vibration he felt and not Kennedy's, though. _Hmm,_ _another piece of Kimble's puzzle to solve_. Remy hadn't yet turned his report on Kimble to Henry as promised so the Professor was left to his own observations.

"What you do to 'im?" Remy asked, not really wanting to know.

"Boy got off easy if you ask me," Wolverine grumbled. " 'Ol One Eye gave him some stupid sexual harassment papers to sign, explaining the rules."

"Kimble don' understand. 'E like a kid himself," Remy said feebly, not really having it in him to make excuses. He couldn't believe Kimble had been that stupid.

"He's understandin' good now, I can tell you. He's been nice and quiet," Logan replied, a smug grin on his face.

Remy rubbed his eyes and retreated without a fight. He was much too tired to deal with this crap right now. Kimble had baked his own cake, he was just going to have to eat it now. Maybe this would be enough to get his act straightened out. "I'm goin' to bed," he said and turned to go.

Wolverine grunted, surprised Gambit hadn't said any more in Kimble's defense. He watched Remy leave without comment, but wondered what was going through the Cajun's mind. He was a difficult man to read.

"If Kimble's such a creep, why are you letting him hang around?" Kennedy wondered out loud.

"He's not a creep," the Professor argued. "He's not from around here and is having a hard time adjusting to our ways."

"That lady there? That's Fallen," Wolverine explained to Kennedy. "She's got a lot to offer the team and he's just along for the ride. Don't worry, we'll get his ass in line sure enough."

"That's rather crudely put," Charles snapped, looking up into Logan's eyes without fear. While he respected Wolverine's advice, the feral man still had his share of prejudices to overcome. They had been working on this, but still had a long way to go.

"It's precise and I'm always precise," Logan boasted arrogantly, challenging the Professor to deny it. "Kimble's gonna fall in line if I gotta kick his ass to do it."

"I certainly hope it won't come to that. There are other ways besides violence to solve one's problems you know. I'll go have a chat with the boy. It's long past due anyways."

Charles started to make his way to the Lucky Dragon and was joined by Henry on the way over. The Blackbird inspection would be finished by Scott and Henry was ready to start work with Fallen again. He excitedly explained to the Professor about the progress they had made and he nodded. They disappeared inside the ship with Fallen.

"Let's go grab a steak at Harry's," Kennedy offered to Wolverine. "I'm starvin'."

"Sounds good to me."

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Remy made his way up the stairs and up to his room. He was tired from the job and upset over Kimble's fuck up and just wanted it all to go away. He made his way down the hall, but paused as he passed Manny's room. He'd heard a soft feminine giggle leak out from behind the closed door, one he knew all too well. Manny wasn't alone, Rogue was with him. It was early morning and no doubt she was getting Manny ready for a brand new day.

Remy felt a surge of anger and frustration rise at the thought of Rogue in the hands of another man. His fists clenched and his teeth ground tight, officially sending his headache to that migraine level for good. Man, he was tired! He shook his head and kept going to his room, slamming the door behind him a little harder than he intended. A picture frame fell over from his dresser and he fell back against the door, covering his eyes, trying to keep his rising temper in check. He just needed some sleep, that was all.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself. That was better. He slid off his coat and tossed it down on the back of his wooden chair. He sat down on his bed and opened the drawer of his night stand. He kept a bottle of Jack Daniels in there with a glass and poured himself a nice big shot, a little hair of the dog. He grabbed a couple of Advils from the drawer as well and tossed them back with the whiskey, feeling the alcohol's pleasant warmth seep into him. He was going to sleep for a whole fucking year, he was so wasted. He put the bottle back and froze in surprise.

Someone had been in his room.

Remy wasn't always the neatest person and had tossed his clothes from the previous day onto the seat of the wooden chair before he had showered. His clothes were not as he'd left them, his area had been disturbed. This wasn't the first time this had happened -- his relationship with Rogue was widely known and more than once, students had come in while he was gone and raided his large stash of condoms and other little 'goodies' he kept aside for her. He kept meaning to buy (or steal) a lock box but never quite got around to it.

He took a quick inventory of his surroundings and realized that yesterday's shirt, the one he'd casually tossed on the chair, was missing. _Dat rascal Rogue_, he thought to himself with a smile, not minding that intrusion at all. _Guess she miss me more dan she t'ink, non?_

He lay back on his bed with a chuckle, feeling much more contented than he had a moment ago. He curled up in his bed not bothering to undress and fell asleep instantly, never losing that teasing smile. He had no idea he'd had a visitor of quite another sort last night.


	5. Chapter 5

(Five)

Back down in the hanger bay Remy had just left, Kimble looked up as the Professor rolled into the Main Room from the galley. The man had come in with Beast earlier and Kimble had been relieved to have them pass him by without comment on his screw up with Holly. Apparently he hadn't gotten off as luckily as he'd thought, it hadn't taken long for Charles to come back out here on his own. Kimble had no idea why Charles would be here in the first place but then the guy was the head honcho here, maybe he just wanted to talk to Fallen or Henry. Not feeling the least bit sociable, Kimble turned away and went to work, hoping the man would just pass him by.

The pilot had unpacked most of the cart and was organizing the materials just outside of the barracks room door. This was a quick job and with the files he had, shouldn't take him long. Seth had drawn up the plans for the rooms and Kimble had called them up on the Main Screen so he could have them ready. Kimble saw the ruler of the X-men coming and already began to shake with fear. So far, he'd had no direct contact with the man. Clearly, he'd been too optimistic to think his little escapade from yesterday would go unnoticed.

"Good morning, Kimble," the Professor greeted warmly, killing any hopes the pilot might have had at getting away without having to speak.

Kimble swallowed heavily and quickly stooped down to one knee in the submissive Clan posture for royalty. "Good morrow, sir."

The Professor paused, startled by the grand display of humility. It was just another reminder to him that Kimble was from another place and needed only some understanding and patience. He could see Kimble's respect and his fear. He clearly respected his authority and the Professor would have to tread carefully here.

"Good morrow, Kimble. There's no need for that. Please, get up."

Kimble rose uncertainly. Fallen wasn't here to tell him how to act and he was nervous.

"What is this you are doing?" Charles asked, hoping to put Kimble at ease.

"Fallen wants some rooms changed around."

"I see. Please, don't let me stop you. We can chat while you work."

Kimble nodded and went back to reorganizing. He kept glancing up at the man in the wheelchair as he did. He was hopelessly spooked and felt his hands go slick with gel sweat. He was afraid he would drop something and look even more foolish. He took a deep breath and concentrated, using his mild telekinetic power to lift the heavier things.

Charles was looking over the diagram Seth had made on the Main Screen. It didn't stop him from noticing Kimble's use of power. In fact, it gave him an idea. "Your entrance test results came back. Your scores were quite impressive."

Charles' remarks were understated, Kimble's results had been shocking to say the least. He had outscored most students in the math and sciences, a result of Fallen showing him a thing or two no doubt. Kimble's mind was a computer, he had a perfect memory and whatever he came across was burned in there, ready for him to access again at any time. The only things Kimble had fallen short on were those to be expected -- the history and social mores of this country where he had never lived.

Some psychology questions had been tossed in for good measure and it was there that Kimble's immaturity really showed. It was as though he were a ten year old child, one with a sexual drive far stronger than he should have and without the moral restraint most grown ups had acquired by the time they came of the age that Kimble's skin represented. That was a recipe for trouble and Kimble was going to need some serious looking after, something the Professor had just finished discussing with Fallen a moment ago.

Kimble smiled at what the Professor had said about his test scores. It was a compliment, being told he was so smart. Still he tried to be humble when he replied, "I told Henry that I knows how ta read 'n write. Gots my math down good. Don' think I needs no more learnin'."

The Professor laughed at Kimble's horrible English. It was partly because of this that Kimble was so easy to underestimate. "Yes, I can see that. Still, there's never too much you can learn. It might help you settle in."

Kimble kept his eyes down and said softly, "I gots orders ta stays away from the other kids. I'm suppozta stays down here."

"Who told you that?"

"Fallen. She's my Mistress. I gots orders."

Charles nodded, already knowing that Scott had handled this. They had discussed what to do with the Siskan and the punishment was appropriate. Charles had just made sure Fallen was on board with what needed to be done as well. Still, he took a minute to probe Kimble, wanting to get a look at Kimble's mind right from the source. "Kimble, what exactly were your intentions with Holly Mercer yesterday?"

Kimble swallowed again, unable to hide his fear. None of the others seemed to understand his needs, not even Remy, so he didn't bother to explain. "Nuthin'. We wuz just talkin', you know? She kissed me, that's all."

"Logan said you had a hand up her shirt."

Kimble put his head down and closed his eyes with real shame. There was no way out of this so he just said nothing more. They had all decided he was bad and he figured there was nothing to be done to change that.

Charles tried to keep his voice level as he attempted to reassure. He didn't want Kimble to think he had been condemned. "I'm not stupid. I know what you were you were doing, what I'd really like to know is why."

"I had no idear she wuz so young, I swears!" Kimble blurted out defensively, sounding just like the child he was.

Charles raised a hand, asking for calm. "I'd like very much to believe that, but it still doesn't answer the question. You mishandled a young girl, made advances towards more than one of the others here. What is it you want?"

"What're you askin', huh? Am I some kind of pervert?" Kimble asked back, a hard edge coming back into his voice. He shook his head. "What is it with you folks, huh? So afraid of havin' fun you turn a little fuckin' inta sumpthin' bad."

Kimble looked up at the Professor, his anger making him bold. He stood up close, suddenly invading the other man's space, and touched his face. The Professor started to jerk back, but then actually 'felt' Kimble's power as the pilot 'read' him. Kimble's touch was warm as if he was real, and for the first time Charles connected with the mind of this strange pilot making him far more alive to Charles than he had been only just a few seconds ago. The Professor wasn't alarmed, he sensed only Kimble's desire to make him understand, Kimble wasn't going to hurt him. The Professor decided to play along, his fascination holding him in place. Perhaps he would get a better idea of what this strange being was all about.

Kimble grinned at him sadly as he took in what his touch had told him. "You wuzn't always in no chair. You ever fuck a woman, huh?"

"Of course," Charles admitted though he didn't exactly approve of Kimble's choice of words. Charles was a man who thought in the most positive terms, Kimble's word implied a casualness that he had never felt when with the few women he'd known. He took his emotions and relationships seriously.

Kimble grinned shyly, seeming to know just what the Professor was thinking and that it amused him in some way. "Tell me it wuzn't the best thing ya ever felt. Tell me there ain't no better feelin' when ya feels their love come blastin' inta ya, makin' ya feel yer the mos' important thing in the world."

The Professor smiled when he saw Kimble's eyes turn wistful and dreamy at the thought of all that love. Kimble wasn't the first empath Charles had met, he knew several. They felt things on a whole other level. Sex for an empath would be something quite different for them than the rest of us. He also knew that an empath wouldbe overly emotional and subject to violent mood swings depending on their environment. Empaths were susceptible to depression, violent tendencies and suicide. They simply felt too much and it could overwhelm them. Kimble would have to be handled delicately, but could be worked in just fine with a little care and understanding. It had been a while since the Professor had an empath of Kimble's level in his care. He would have to do some research and set up a meeting with the Senior alphas. Kimble's empathy explained a lot about him and his strange behaviors.

"Of course it's nice, but it's not everything. There are other things that can give you satisfaction."

"I tried that already, it ain't no good fer me," Kimble said, misunderstanding.

The Professor laughed, breaking some of the tension. It hid his surprise that this creature, a supposed machine of sorts and not even technically real or organic, would even consider pleasuring himself. It only added to his sentiency. "That's not what I meant, dear boy. There's a certain satisfaction that comes from helping others. An empath like yourself can be very useful in helping us with people who are hurt or can't speak to us. Just as the telepaths do."

Kimble stepped back and crouched down, submissive. "Then ya ain't mad at me?"

"No, but we do have rules. It is not acceptable to handle such a young girl like that."

"Y-yes, sir," Kimble replied, lowering his eyes.

"It will not happen again."

"No, sir."

"Good. Now let's put that behind us now. I would say that just because you need to be separated from the students for a while doesn't mean the school can't come to you. I could bring you some books."

Kimble was still frozen, stunned that he'd gotten off so easily. It didn't keep him from being dispassionate about the Professor's offer. It was just one more thing for him to do all alone. Another empty task. "Shure. Whatever."

The Professor noted the change in Kimble's attitude but not the reason behind it. He figured Kimble would be all over the opportunity to explore and learn new things. He'd picked up that much watching Kimble at the dining table the first night here. Come to think of it, Kimble's attitude was sharply different from that first day. The brightness and childlike curiosity was gone, replaced with a sullen, depressed manner. Fallen's strange hologram was clearly under some kind of pressure or getting swamped with negative vibrations. Where would they be coming from? What had he missed?

It really disabled his normal intuitiveness not being to use his telepathy. As before, he got nothing from Kimble now that the Siskan had withdrawn, as if the creature in front of him wasn't really there. Charles would never fully invade the mind of another, he'd trained himself too well. He was not an eavesdropper or a reckless mind reader. He was a polite man and made his own set of rules, he would ask before fully diving into the psyche of another. It was just easier when the mood of his subject was a little more available than Kimble's was. He had no idea he was witnessing a typical Kimble reaction to being neglected.

"Do you like it here?"

Kimble froze, pinned under the Professor's stare. He swallowed nervously and grinned to cover his discomfort. " 'S all right, I guess," he lied, not wanting to offend his host.

"This can be a good place for someone like you. Clearly you have many talents and we need all the help we can get. What makes a good team is diversity. Everyone can contribute. This would be a good place to explore your potential."

Kimble shook his head as he was swamped with more negative thoughts. _Explore my potential for what? Fuckin' up?_ _Oh, I haven't even begun ta starts if I knows m'self well enough!_ "When Seth gits out, we'll be movin' on. I don' wants ta start sumpthin' I ain't gonna finish."

The Professor seemed puzzled by Kimble's response, he said, "Henry has offered Fallen and Seth both positions here and they've accepted. Didn't she tell you?"

Kimble froze, stunned and momentarily breathless as his anger surged. Fallen had told him nothing of this, the little bitch. Oh, this was just great. Just great. Now he wasn't even in the information loop, how embarrassing.

Charles saw the look of devastation and fury on Kimble's face, a fact the poor Siskan wasn't able to hide. Charles realized Kimble hadn't been told and was wounded deeply by it. Kimble felt left out. Kimble felt unaccepted. Kimble felt unwanted. Kimble had fucked up royally and had believed his mistake was unrecoverable until just now when the Professor had tossed him a gesture of forgiveness. Kimble hadn't felt this from Fallen, his Mistress. Kimble wondered when he was going to fuck up next and just how bad it was going to be. It all came to the Professor in that one look.

Instantly sympathetic, the Professor tried to reach out to him. "This is a strange place to you, I realize, but it's not as difficult a one as you may think. We want you here, Kimble. I want you here. Change is a necessary part of life and we all need it. Let us help you adjust and you'll see how this will be a good place for you to explore your powers and yourself."

The Professor wanted to put Kimble at ease, to help him blend into the group even though technically he wasn't real. He had a sense that Kimble's only trouble was that he wanted to belong and hoped that his encouragement would raise Kimble's spirits and inspire him to try a bit harder to get along.

Kimble was too distracted by the Professor's announcement to feel inspired to do anything but have a nice big fight. Fallen had said nothing to him about this and he was furious. He was her Second, her Kimble, and he had a right to know. How dare she just pass him by like he was nothing!

"I'll..uh..I'll thinks about it," he stammered, wanting this man gone so he could rip Fallen a new one. How dare she do this to him! "I gots to git back ta workin's now."

The Professor could see Kimble wasn't in the mood to talk anymore and decided maybe he should continue this conversation at another time. He had dropped a few hints the pilot might take into consideration if hew wasn't too pressured. Charles knew the best thing now was to back off and give Kimble some time to think it over about joining the school. He had no idea of the fight he'd just precipitated between this pilot and his Mistress, but he knew it after he'd excused himself and made his way down the ramp. He was only just out of the ship when he heard Kimble go off, the pilot had wasted no time in finding his Mistress. Charles looked back the way he'd come, startled by the language that came out the Siskan's mouth. He realized his mistake too late, but was in no position to stop it now.

----------------------------------

Kimble was livid, flushed, as he shouted at his Mistress, "Why the fuck didn't ya tell me we wuz stayin' fer good, huh! I'm yer god damned Second! I had a right ta know! I gots a say in this!"

"Lower your voice!" Fallen ordered, not the least bit intimidated by Kimble's wrath. "I'm your Mistress, your Captain, and you will calm down! Not that I have to explain myself, but that only just happened this morning and I didn't get a chance to tell you yet. Besides, I thought you wanted to stay!"

Kimble had stormed into the galley, not even a breath after the Professor had left. He faced Fallen now and went off, not even caring that Henry was there. Beast had been shocked silent by Kimble's unexpected outburst. He moved back a little and let them duke it out, vowing only to step in if things got out of control. He hadn't realized Kimble didn't know about Fallen's change in plans and hoped they would resolve this quickly. He didn't think Kimble would do more than just vent his frustration verbally.

" 'Case you haven't noticed, things ain't been workin' out so good fer me!" Kimble continued to rant, his face contorted in an ugly mask of rage and frustration.

"What are you talking about? We've only been here a few days! You are so incredibly selfish, you know that? All you've done since we got here is cause trouble. You have freedom, Kimble, and you squander it as if it has no value! Your brother would love to have what you do. I can't believe how silly you're being right now!"

Kimble started to argue some more but realized that she simply didn't know what was happening to him. She spent all day in the shop working merrily away while he was stuck out here being ignored and shoved aside. Since she and Henry began their work to free Seth in earnest, they'd hardly spoken except for her yelling at him or ordering him to do something that inevitably had him off working somewhere alone. She really had no clue how miserable he was. Defeated, he no longer wanted to argue. "Just fergits anathin' I say, okay? It's obvious you don' give a shit nohow."

He turned away but growled when she snatched at his arm.

"Talk to me, Kimble. What's going on? Is it that girl? How could you have been so stupid? You need to try harder! It's time to grow up, Kim. You are my Second and under my authority. We're staying and that's the end of it. Deal with it. If you'd just shape up and get your hormones under control, you'd see most of your troubles are your own fault!"

"My fault! My—? **Fuck you!**" he snarled, yanking his arm away. In his anger, he gave off a short telekinetic pulse that pushed her back a pace. He stormed out, cursing her all the way. She was never going to understand so why even bother.

"Kimble! You get back here this instant!" Fallen bellowed after him as if he was an unruly teenager. She had been taken by surprise from his display of power as much as from his unexpected reaction to her decision to stay. Two days ago he'd been begging her to stay, now he wanted to leave. What was his problem? He was so unreasonable and stubborn!

"Leave him be, Fallen," Henry advised. "Let him cool off and settle down. He's just trying to adjust. That will take time. Let him cool off and spend some time with him later. He's probably just lonely."

"He's a pain in the ass!"

"He's a lonely pain in the ass. He's seen very little of you," Beast insisted.

Fallen took deep breath and calmed down. "You're right. You're right. Let's do some work and I'll talk to him later when he settles down."

"I'm sure you'll see he just needs some company. Now let's get cracking on those codes. I've got some fresh ideas."

She smiled at him, grateful for all of his help and they went down to the shop.

-------------------------------

Kimble paced in the barracks room, trying to think. He was trembling with rage and humiliation, furious he had been brushed off. As far as his Mistress was concerned, he'd gone off on her for no reason. As usual, he'd blown everything all out of proportion and had been shut down. Of course it was all his fault, didn't he know? Never being good enough, never being accepted, left all alone. Of course it was all his fault. Yep, uh huh. Right. Shure.

_I toldja so!_ Zander cackled from inside his head, all too ready to put in his two cents worth. _I toldja they wuz never gonna have ya!_

"Go away!"

_I felt that vibration cummin' offa yer sweet Cajun pretty boy, too._ _Wonder if he's jealous of that piece of Asian ass you wuz tryin' ta score._ _Guess ya blew that one, too!_ Zander laughed.

"Shut up! Jus' shut up!" Kimble growled and covered his ears.

"Who are you talking to?"

Kimble turned to see Seth who had just popped up on the barracks viewing screen. Seth had heard Kimble and Fallen arguing and went to see what was the matter. He didn't like the look he saw on his brother's face now, it was too much like the one he'd had on the trip here when they were all trapped inside the Lucky Dragon and having a hard time. "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Kimble snapped harshly, hardly convincing. He was still angry and feeling left out. Figures Seth would come now instead of being there for him last night when he had really needed the company. Now all he wanted was to be left alone.

Seth cringed a little, wounded by Kimble's tone. "Don't be angry. Don't be mad like you were before, Kimble. It scares me."

Kimble sighed and closed his eyes. It scared him, too. He softened his voice and said a little more gently, "It's nuthin', jus' fergit it."

"Let's go play chess, okay?"

_You had yer chance, buddy, and blew it big time_, Kimble thought with renewed anger. "I gots work ta do."

Seth lowered his eyes, knowing he'd just been brushed off. He realized now he shouldn't have turned Kimble away last night. Now his brother was mad. "How about later, okay?"

"Shure, whatever."

"I mean it. I miss you."

Kimble relaxed and gave his brother a small reassuring smile. It was hard for him to stay mad at Seth, even after today's troubles. "All right. When Fallen goes down fer sleepin'."

Seth smiled with relief. "I'll be there." The screen winked out and Kimble was alone.

The moment he was alone, Kimble gave into his tumultuous emotions and crouched down low, covering his ears again. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm down. He had to get his frustration under control or he was going to snap and do something even more stupid than he had already. He had to be smarter than this. He thought of good things, of Remy and the sound of his hearty laughter and the soft lilt of his lovely Cajun voice. Man, he missed that playful thief more than anything. Now all that had been ruined. Kimble sobbed a little when he remembered the pain from Gambit's vibration of disappointment and anger and felt a surge of self loathing and humiliation.

He felt suddenly dirty and the smell of excrement flooded his nose, an offense that come out of nowhere. He looked all around him in confusion, but saw nothing that would cause this awful stink, certainly not Zander or his stupid little ghost. He was awake now anyway, not lost in a dream. Disgusted, he stood up and shuffled off to the barracks lav, closing the door. He stepped into the shower and let the hot water pour over him, turning it hotter and hotter until it almost scalded his sensitive skin. He rubbed the soap over him, burying himself in Fallen's smell. It refreshed him and he felt better now, laughing as he covered himself in suds and loving the feel of his hands over his body. The horrible stink was gone, he must have imagined it, how silly of him. He lost himself in another playful fantasy, preferring this dream to the bleak reality he now found himself in.

He missed Sheyman horribly. His father had always found time to be with him, had always been there for him with comfort and ample playtime. He really needed that level of loving care to be truly happy. He ran through some of his memory files of his father, trying to grasp onto any shred of love and comfort he could find. It soothed him and calmed him, but would never be the same as a real lover right here, right now. He indulged himself in the shower few more minutes then got out and dried off.

When he went back to work, his mind had cleared and he lost himself in the task, banishing Zander to the furthest part of his consciousness. It was nice to actually have real work to do and he found himself losing all track of time. He never noticed it when Fallen never came to talk to him or that Seth had blown him off again. Not until it was quite late and the ship had fallen silent. Not until he had finished his job with pride and had no one to show it to, no one to tell him what a good job he'd done or how helpful he'd been. Not until he was once more completely, totally alone.


	6. Chapter 6

(Six)

The next morning, Remy knocked on Kimble's door. He'd had a decent night's sleep and decided to come here and try and get Kimble's point of view on his troubles. He was surprised to see the recent construction work inside the ship. He hadn't understood what he'd seen Fallen moving around the hanger bay yesterday, but was glad for the improvement. Kimble had his own space now, a better sense of belonging somewhere. Remy also hoped this was a sign the Lucky Dragon was staying around. He enjoyed Kimble's company and didn't want them to leave.

Kimble's door wasn't latched so he let himself in. The Siskan had finished the framework and put up the walls for the rooms, there was the smell of fresh paint. Kimble wasn't one to sleep much and had used the time well, the room was largely finished. He moved some furniture in and stopped there for the moment. It didn't quite have a lived in feel, but that would come in time.

Remy found his friend at a small table, drawing.

Henry had brought Kimble the table and some nice pencils with some fine drawing paper. There were two reasons for this. The first was to keep Kimble busy. The second was to keep an eye on Kimble's mental condition. Henry was now aware that Kimble was having trouble fitting in and was even more concerned that Kimble hadn't fully recovered from being broken and then being restored on the ship. He was curious what Kimble would draw, if he would sketch out his frustration and give him some ideas on how to help him.

Kimble didn't look up even though he heard Gambit come in and the tightness of his shoulders betrayed his foul mood. It didn't take long for Remy to see why. Kimble had a large rubber inflatable sex doll on his bed and Remy guessed that since the pilot had no money or access to a store, someone had left it there as a joke. Kimble hadn't taken it well.

Gambit couldn't help himself but greet, "Bonjour, Kim. New girl?"

Kimble snarled, deep and low, and spun quickly. He tossed a sharpened pencil like a dart, using his some telekinesis to add to its velocity, and popped the doll, furious. The pencil stabbed the poor thing in the throat and she wheezed helplessly before deflating with an unromantic hiss. "Not no more!"

First thing that morning, Kimble had gone to the lab on an errand for Henry. Beast had forgotten some equipment he needed to help out with Seth and figured that since Kimble was so bored he would send the pilot down to get it. Kimble, eager to please as always, was all too willing to help out. When he came back, he saw that someone had left him this little present. He didn't know all of the customs of this new world, but he was sexually intelligent enough to figure out what the purpose of this little toy was. He couldn't have been more insulted. It was so typical of these pathetic humans to make a mockery of such a beautiful thing as making love.

It didn't help matters that someone had snuck in here and left it, violating his privacy. The room was only just made and someone had already invaded it, not even a single day going by. He felt violated and took it as a sign that the others here considered him to be of no value and that he didn't have the same rights as everyone else because he wasn't real. It was always Kimble's way to overreact and take any kind of personal attack as an attack on his sense of being a real person.

"What a shame," Remy teased with a grin, unable to resist. "Look like an opportunity wasted, if you askin' me."

"I didn't ask!"

Remy sat down on the bed, tossing the rubber ruin onto the floor. "I 'eard you 'ad a visit from ol' One Eye. 'Eard 'e gave you some papers."

Kimble didn't answer. He just grabbed another pencil and kept scribbling, his face carved with a deep, angry frown.

"You gonna tell Gambit what happened wit dis girl, neh?"

"She kissed me," Kimble said defensively, not looking at him.

"People kiss 'ere for lots of reasons. Don' mean dey be wantin' anyt'ing more'n dat."

"She kissed me, I kissed her back," Kimble explained tersely, his voice tense and angry. "She didn't stop me, but no ---- I'm the bad guy. I'm the fuckin' pervert!"

Remy flinched a little, hearing the disgust and self loathing in Kimble's voice. "No one say dat 'bout you, little brother."

Kimble turned and glared at him. The blow up doll had been statement enough.

"You don' wanna talk about dis."

"No."

"Si bien, den. Look, well, Gambit's got some business in town, you know. Probably gonna be gone a coupla days. You gonna be okay on your own?"

"Whatever."

Remy put his head down and sighed. "What's your problem, Kim? You don' wanna talk, I can just go."

Kimble put his pencil down and closed his eyes. "Fallen took on a job here permanent and said nuthin' ta me about it."

"What's wrong wit dat? T'ought you wanted ta stay 'ere wit us."

"I hates it here. Evrabody hates me. They think I wanted ta rapes that girl. That ain't my way, but when I explains it they don' believe me. They don't think I'm real."

"Nobody 'ere say you ain't real. Dey jus' don' understand how -- **_playful _**-- you are, is all. You gotta give dem more time."

"Yer the only one who comes ta talk to me. Nobody here even wants ta make friends with me."

"You try talkin' to dem?"

"Yeah. Look how that turned out," Kimble snapped sarcastically.

"Makin' friends don' mean 'avin' sex, Kimble."

"I knows that!" Kimble snorted. "It ain't my fault Holly kissed me."

Remy put his head down and rubbed his hands some more. It had been explained to him that Kimble had some sort of charm power or some such nonsense, but he knew from their deep bonding it was just a form of Kimble's empathy running away with itself. He could see Kimble wasn't fully aware of it, but his friend's foul mood didn't inspire Remy to try and convince him it was a real thing that must be controlled. Not at this moment at least.

Kimble sniffed and continued whining now that Remy had gotten him started. "There ain't no fun here. No playin', jus' workin' an bein' bored. Seth won't play with me. I gos ta see him at night cuz I cain't sleeps too much an' he's busy. He's busy and Fallen's busy and now yer busy, too. Nobody wants ta plays with me."

Neither Seth nor Fallen had honored their word about spending time with him yesterday. There had been some kind of breakthrough on the codes and Kimble had been left in the dust. They hadn't even come to apologize. Coupled with his room invasion, Kimble had spiraled back down in cloud of black rage and despair.

"Kimble, you 'ave ta learn ta find stuff to do on your own. Dere's lots to do 'ere."

Kimble turned to him, his face angry. "Oh? Like what?"

"You got your guitar, eh? Lots of new music to learn. Look, you drawin' now. Dose are good t'ings to start wit."

"You don't get it, do you? I'm alone! I'm always alone now! It fuckin' sucks!"

Gambit raised his hands, asking for patience. "Esp'ere, fils. Calm down dere, buddy. Dis de real world now. We all 'ave to learn to do stuff on our own. Nobody's playin' wit me either 'cept you, eh? Now we both on our own. You gotta learn ta hang, man. Can you do that? I don' wanna be worryin' 'bout you while I'm gone."

"I already got the "Just grow up" speech already. I don' needs ta hear it again." Kimble scribbled furiously now, ruining the picture he'd just made, but no longer caring.

Gambit stood suddenly, irritated by Kimble's stubbornness and childish attitude. "I can't 'elp you if you gonna be some kind of asshole, Kimble!"

Kimble put his head down and dropped his pencil, sagging in his seat as his anger left him, leaving only despair in its wake. He let the pencil roll unobstructed to the edge of the table and it fell to the floor. He closed his eyes as silent tears spilled from his eyes.

Remy got up and stood behind his friend, his own anger gone. He looked over Kimble's shoulder and saw he'd been drawing pictures of swords. He didn't know what this meant, only that it was better than dead bodies or something. He put his hands on Kimble's shoulders and leaned down next to his ear. "What's wrong wit you, cher?"

Kimble couldn't help but smile a little from the warmth of Remy's hands on his shoulders and the vibration of loving concern that came from him. The heat of it smoothed away his pain and the dark cloud lifted a little. He loved to be touched, especially by someone who cared about him personally, something that would never change. He wiped away at his tears and whispered. "I don' wants ta be alone no more. It ain't no good fer me."

"Gambit can't 'elp you wit dis, Kim. You gotta get outta dis rut you in. You gotta t'ink real 'ard 'bout what you doin' and be good."

"Lay with me," Kimble blurted out without thinking. Gambit's touch so close had robbed him of his senses. "I'll makes it good fer you, I promise."

Gambit just laughed with surprise at Kimble's boldness. "You got all de subtlety of a freight train, mon frere." He had to admit he was tempted, he could really use some runaway passion himself. He was lonely for Rogue, for some female company. He knew Kimble could shift and the girl skin was pretty enough, but he wasn't that stupid. Remy was no longer the impulsive youth from long ago when he would have taken up Kimble's offer with cheer. He'd grown up. Gambit knew that Kimble was so needy right now that he would hound him forever afterwards, demanding more than Remy was willing to give. Remy didn't want to ruin the friendship and strong bonding they had by making a mistake.

"I'll change into a girl," Kimble insisted, sensing Remy's thoughts.

"Non. I told you 'ow it was wit you an' me. Nuthin's changed. You gotta 'ave some patience and let t'ings jus' happen. You ain't gonna be on your own forever. Now, promise me you will be good."

"Kimble will be good," he said with a small laugh, Remy's confidence making him feel better.

"Good. I'll be back tomorrow night, mebbe de nex' mornin'. If I take you somewhere now, you promise to be good?"

Kimble's face lit up with excitement brighter than a sixty watt bulb. "Where we goin'?"

"Come wit me."

---------------------------------------

Remy had intended to leave right away, but now he saw his friend was in dire need of some real attention. He took Kimble's hand and led him out of the ship to the lower level and to the Danger Room door. Kimble couldn't contain his excitement and began to tremble with anticipation, he'd heard a lot about the Danger Room but hadn't been allowed in. Supposedly they used holograms in here and artificial environments to train. It all sounded like magic and mystery to Kimble, something exciting.

Remy clicked a button on the door security panel. "Codename: Gambit."

"Accepted," the computer chirped back and the door unlocked.

Kimble looked around in amazement as they walked in. He wasn't sure what to expect, but this large empty room wasn't it. The room was huge with plain metal walls. The walls weren't seamless, but had some markings where hidden doors might be. He could see another doorway that probably led to the control room he could see up above them. A large glass window looking down confirmed his guess, he could make out computer consoles and chairs up there, a sort of observation deck. Down in the room itself there were no machines or weapons in sight, nothing that would indicate anything exciting might happen, that was for sure. How did these guys train in here?

Gambit seemed unfazed by the spare, empty room. He simply walked to the middle of the area and called out, "Computer, activate Program: dancin' 402. Activate holograms Rogue, Phoenix, and Storm. Gotta 'ave company," he said to Kimble with a wink.

Kimble gasped in shock and surprise as the room suddenly changed. The walls seemed to melt away like magic and were replaced with an image of a country music dance hall, complete with sawdust on the floor. The same way this room crated the Morlock tunnels so perfectly, it now flawlessly created the environment Gambit had asked for. Here was the magic that Kimble had been told about, the change was completely convincing, he had to keep reminding himself that this was the same room he had been in before. Kimble stepped back, awed again as holographic images of Jean, Storm and Rogue materialized next to him. He reached out and touched them, they felt real, but didn't acknowledge that he was there. They weren't as real or sentient as he was.

"What are these? They ain't like no 'grams I seen," Kimble asked, awed and more than a little confused by all of this. No Dognan technology came close to this.

Remy smiled, pleased by how Kimble had been so surprised. "Dese are just 'grams we use for teachin'. We got some more real dan dese, but I wouldn't want to start up some of dose. Dey might get a little too frisky for us."

"Frisky is good," Kimble said with a grin.

"Bien entendu, but not for dancin'."

Gambit took the Rogue hologram's hands, getting ready. Kimble saw him and hastily put himself in front of the Jean hologram, making his choice. The Storm hologram was left alone and Remy shut it off, chuckling over Kimble's selection. Fine country dance music came on and they began to dance. Kimble wasn't familiar with all forms of dance, but like anything else, Kimble learned quickly just by observing Remy's own classic moves and in no time, was having a blast. He laughed and joked around, losing himself in play.

They danced for a long time, changing themes from disco to Goth heavy metal. Remy loved to dance and appreciated all kinds of music. Kimble didn't mind the scheme changes, he was having too much fun. He transitioned effortlessly, all of his troubles fading away. He seemed tireless and grumbled good naturedly when it was time to quit. He was eager for more and this session had ended much too soon for his liking.

Remy dragged him out with a laugh, he had no choice, others were waiting. There were a lot of people living here and Danger Room time was doled out in allotments. Remy had stolen someone else's time slot and there was some grumbling about it. Not that he cared. He just hooked an arm around Kimble's shoulders and turned his back on the complainers as he led his friend away down the hall. Remy paused to bang on the Coke machine as they passed. "You good now for a while?" he asked, drinking from the can and passing it over to be shared.

"Yeah. We gots ta do this again, maybe with some real girls, huh?"

"Patience, little brother, Gambit be workin' on dat as we speak, je promets. We gotta be sneaky, though. De 'Fessor ain't so sure bout you leavin' de grounds."

"Jus' like Sheyman and the snow. I knows some things're worth the wait."

Remy's stomach growled. "Oui, some t'ings mebbe not. 'Ow bout Gambit show you what pizza's all about, hien?"

"Food of the gods," Kimble said with a mischievous smile, playfully using Henry's expression from days ago on the Lucky Dragon.

Gambit led Kimble upstairs to the large kitchen. There was an area set up for cooking for large groups and another smaller, more comfortable eating area. Gambit went to this smaller area and set Kimble down in a chair. While more private, this small kitchen was no less stocked. Remy poked his head in the freezer, rummaging around among the many boxes of food and packages of meat. He pulled out a frozen pie and set it up in a pan, adding some toppings of his own and extra cheese. It seemed like they never put enough stuff on there and he'd made an art out of embellishing them with flair.

Kimble waited impatiently, watching with great expectations. Remy saw him there, rocking slightly as if he couldn't keep still, a look of rapturous joy on his face. He snickered at Kimble's childish joy and tossed him a small package from one of his large coat pockets. He had intended to give this to Kimble back at the ship, but decided to wait until now.

Kimble picked it up, a huge grin on his face. He loved surprises, especially presents. He opened up the box and gasped with wonder, Remy had gotten him a glass rod kaleidoscope. The glass rod was filled with pretty glitter and sparkling shapes. You looked through the viewer at the glass rod and the shapes made a lovely moving swirl of colors. Remy had gone into a children's store looking for some kind of toy to amuse his friend and knew Kimble would like it because of the pretty colors and the glass. He was right, Kimble was instantly mesmerized and wouldn't put it down.

"How they git them pretty glitter thingies in there?" he wanted to know.

Gambit just shrugged and laughed. "Gambit's got no clue. It's pretty, non?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Remy patted his shoulder, happy he was so easy to amuse. "Pas de quoi, cher. It's a small t'ing. P'etetre, de next time Gambit get you sumptin' a little better."

"No, no way. This's great!" Kimble held the tiny kaleidoscope up to the light and slid the glass rod through again It was just too beautiful for words.

The pizza was done and Remy laughed as he had to gently force Kimble to put his new toy down in order to eat. Kimble sniffed at the pizza and tasted it. He grinned his approval and they sat munching quietly, enjoying what Remy had made.

Kimble was thrilled with this stolen time with Gambit, the Cajun always seemed to make time for him and went out of his way to try and make him feel better when he was down. Kimble's eyes kept straying up to look at Remy's face, loving him more and more as each moment passed and Gambit continued to accept him in spite of his screwing up all the time. For the first time, he wished Remy was his Master as Sheyman had been. What would be more blissful than a lifetime with this playful, thoughtful human? What fun and adventures they would have. Kimble lost himself in a pleasant daydream as he ate, his mind drifting a million miles away.

Their meal was suddenly interrupted as the back door opened and Cyclops walked in with someone Kimble hadn't seen before. Kimble stopped eating, stunned by the new arrival.

Warren Worthington, otherwise known by the codename Angel, was a beautiful man, having lovely blonde hair and large feathered wings like a bird. He was tall and lanky, sleek and streamlined. He wore a tight, red colored drysuit because he loved to fly at high altitude where it was colder and more damp. Like Scott, he was one of the oldest members of the team, and because of his high society upbringing, unfortunately one of the most arrogant. He'd been born into one of the richest families in New York and was a millionaire. He was still something of a playboy in spite of being a mutant, his feathered wings being seen by most girls as more attractive than repulsive. He knew just how good looking he was. He glanced over Kimble and dismissed him immediately for the worthless friend of a LeBeau that he was.

Kimble thought Warren was pretty and couldn't tear his eyes away. He did notice something odd about Warren, his shine hovered about his body, but not his wings, and Kimble realized then that Warren's wings were fake. Kimble paused in his admiration when he began to feel a painful vibration of disgust and loathing coming from Warren. For the first time it wasn't directed at him, it was aimed at Gambit.

"Bonjour, Warren," Gambit said, nonplused although Warren's mood was plain.

"LeBeau," Warren replied frostily, making a face in disgust.

Remy wondered why it was that it was that everyone said his last name in an ice cold sneer. Why not just say, 'Hey, asshole, I hate your stinking guts.' It would be refreshing to do away with all this stupid macho posturing.

"This is Kimble," Cyclops said, putting on his best face and introducing the pilot to Warren. He could sense the rising tension in the room and was hoping to deflect it away from Gambit. "He's a guest here at the house."

"Kimble, huh? I've heard so much about you," Warren replied, his tone not becoming any friendlier. Word of Kimble's little indiscretion had spread quickly amongst the senior staff, it wasn't much of a secret anymore. Of course that wasn't the source of Warren's disgust, it was the company Kimble had chosen to keep. Warren was positively vibrating with hatred at the sight of the thief.

Remy leaned back in his chair, acting as though he wasn't the least bit put off by the asshole in front of him, but his shine was shimmery with hurt and anger. He grinned at Kimble and teased, "See, Kimble? An you t'ought de X-men would never give you anyt'ing. Now you got a reputation."

"A reputation?" Kimble replied with a grin, willing to play along. "I likes the sound 'a that."

"You keep hanging around with low life scum like Gambit here, you'll get a lot more than just a reputation," Warren sneered.

"What's he doing up here anyway?" Cyclops asked, butting in to try and break off what could escalate into some kind of fight. "Kimble is supposed to stay downstairs. He's on probation."

"Nobody say 'e can't come up wit' an escort, patron," Gambit countered, almost daring Scott to argue. He was disturbed by Warren's cool greeting. He might have earned Warren's hatred, but Kimble hadn't.

"Well, you'd best be sure he gets back without any trouble."

"Absolument, patron."

Scott nodded and tugged gently on Warren, steering him away. The winged man followed easily enough, but his shoulders were high and tight with anger.

Remy laughed without a care at their departure, trying to put on a good face, and got up, putting the dishes in the sink. He wasn't going to let Warren ruin his moment here with Kimble, he just wasn't worth it. He moved on and popped open the fridge, taking out a box of Little Debbie cupcakes. He sat with the box and opened it, dumping all of the small cakes out onto the table, an invitation to gorge.

Kimble sniffed and excitedly pawed at them in their tiny plastic wrappings, already smelling the chocolate. They sat and ate like pigs, gorging until poor Kimble couldn't move. He lay back in his chair afterwards, his eyes already growing heavy from all the food.

"Remy?"

Gambit leaned back in his chair and burped loudly, rubbing his own contented belly. "Oui?"

"Why's that Warren guy's wings all funny?"

Gambit was startled by the question. "Why you say dat?"

"They gots no shine. They ain't real."

"Well, you know... 'E got 'urt real bad once. Dey 'ad to take 'is real wings off. 'E wear dose fake ones now so 'e can still fly."

Oh, there was so much more to the story than that simple explanation and no one knew better than the thief himself. Warren had every right to his bad attitude, seeing as how Remy was the one directly responsible for his crippling. Angel was a long time X-men member, part of the original team that had gone into the Morlock tunnels that day trying to stop the killing. Warren had gotten separated and then overrun by one of the Marauders, a powerful telekinetic that had used large spikes to tack the helpless X-man to the wall, shattering many of the tiny bones that allowed him to fly. When Warren was finally rescued, the damage had been too great and large portions of his wings had to be removed.

The loss of his wings and the ability to fly had been devastating to the young man. He had a severe mental breakdown and was in a hospital for a long time, horribly depressed and angry. During that time Henry had put his marvelous brain to work, researching robotics and ways he could use his knowledge of Shi'ar technology to help out his dear friend. It had taken many years and lots of hard work, but Beast had finally managed to put something together that once more allowed Warren true flight. Not that Henry had created the means for just anyone to fly, Warren's bones were hollow like those of a bird, making him lighter than a real man. He also had the mental wiring for those extra limbs, the prosthetics Henry had created acted on mental impulse. A normal human would never have been able to manipulate them. The new wings Henry had created were the cure for Warren's deep depression and he had been eager to receive them. He left the hospital and had just now completed extensive rehabilitation. Word around the Mansion had it that he had finally passed the rigorous physical requirements needed for squad placement. Warren was back here to be assigned. Remy of course said nothing of this, he didn't add to what he'd already spoken.

Since Gambit had offered so little in his explanation, Kimble could sense he was holding back something. "Did he git hurt from you? Is that why he's all mad at you?"

Remy lit a cigarette and decided maybe this was as good a time as any to tell Kimble what he'd done. Maybe the Siskan would feel a little less like an outsider when he learned he wasn't the only one to fuck up royally. He took his time and quietly explained to Kimble just what he'd done. He explained about his role in the Massacre, leaving nothing out -- not Sabretooth's vicious slashing of his chest, not the little girl he had saved on the way out, but mostly he took care to take the blame for Warren's terrible wounding. Gambit hadn't been the one to spike him, he hadn't actually seen any of the X-men there at all, but the responsibility for all the casualties was his just the same.

When it came out amongst the X-men that Remy had led the Marauders down to the tunnels, Remy found himself with another unforgiving soul to add to his list. Without the actual Marauder to vent his anger on, Angel was quick to single Gambit out. Mostly he and Remy avoided each other, but they bumped into each other now and again, usually with explosive results. Gambit had gotten off easy today, probably because Kimble had been with him and Warren didn't want to be any ruder than he had been.

Remy's crime took place before he had ever been an X-man. He had lied about it when he joined up, but they found out about it anyway. They booted him out during a mission in Antarctica, leaving him to fend for himself or freeze to death. Being lucky (or cursed, depending on your point of view), he survived. A year later he came crawling back and managed to earn his way back on the team. It was an on-going uphill battle. In spite of taking him back upon his return, Rogue had never really forgiven him for trying to hide what he'd done. It had put a tension into their relationship that sometimes grew too big for them to handle. They would separate for a breather and get back together again. That secrecy had been a barrier between them then and now, it was part of the reason she was with Manny now, Remy explained.

Kimble listened to all of this quietly, grateful that Remy had trusted him enough to tell him. It put his own troubles into perspective and he vowed to try harder and not cause his friend any more pain.

"Now you understand what it is about me, Kim. Now you see why de Rogue is all mad and why Warren dere 'ate my guts. See, you ain't de only one ta screw up. Gambit learn ta grow up from dis, appreciate what 'e 'as in 'is life. You gotta do dis, too. Don' fuck up as bad as me, okay?"

"I'll try, Remy. I really will."

"Bien. Now it's time for me to go to work now. I'll walk ya down."


	7. Chapter 7

(Seven)

Gambit saw Kimble safely back to the Lucky Dragon. Fallen and Henry weren't there, but she had left Kimble a list of chores to do and the Siskan went to work on his own, happy to be busy for the moment. Remy was now on his way out of the house. It was late and he'd lost a lot of time, but he felt better now having made Kimble happy and gotten some of the weight off of his chest. He chuckled a little, remembering Kimble's antics as he'd danced in the Danger Room. Kimble's laughter was like a kind of drug, lifting his spirits and making him feel good all over.

Gambit stopped on his way out when the Professor unexpectedly grabbed him as he passed by one of the big conference rooms the X-men regularly held meetings in. "Remy, could I speak to you a moment?"

"Bien entendu, patron. What you 'ave in mind?"

"Come inside, please."

Gambit strolled in, using his usual smooth arrogant stride to cover his nervousness. A small group of X-men had been gathered, consisting of the new Blue Squad Remy had been assigned to but also including Fallen and Henry, an explanation now for where the two of them had gone. Warren was inexplicably slouched arrogantly at the back, his disgust for Gambit still plain on his face.

Remy just knew this was trouble. He wanted a cigarette now in the worst way but knew better than to try and smoke in here. Instead he coveredhis concern by casually popping a piece of gum in his mouth before saying, "Bonjour. What's up, peoples?"

"Welcome, Remy. I wanted you here because I have an announcement to make. Warren has completed his trials and will be joining the ranks of your Blue Squad for a while."

Gambit shivered inwardly, but his face was smooth as glass. " 'S cool wit' me," he lied smoothly. As a new member himself, he didn't think he had much of a say in this anyhow. He would just have to deal with it and keep his distance. He understood why his squad had been chosen to accommodate the new arrival, the Blue Squad had most of the original team – Cyclops, Jean and Bobby. With Henry here it must feel like old times for the winged man.

"As you know, I like to think of us a family," the Professor continued, pointedly looking at Remy. "What affects one of us, affects us all. This is why I would also like to have a brief discussion about Kimble."

_Oh, dat's just great_, Gambit groaned inside. _Shoulda jus' slipped out de back way._

Charles continued to speak, "I had a talk with him yesterday and I've come to the conclusion he's definitely empathic."

"We already knew that," Logan grumbled from his position along the back wall. He was slouched impatiently between Rogue and Nightcrawler, his arms crossed. He wasn't any happier to be here than Gambit was. He watched Remy chew his gum furiously and sighed impatiently, he had forgotten how annoying Gambit could be with his locomotive chewing. It had been peaceful on Cerise where gum was not plentiful.

"Knowing this..." the Professor continued, giving Logan a hard look of impatience. "...it is important that we be very careful how we treat him. He is clearly under some kind of strain. He had some harsh words with Fallen yesterday."

"He always argues like that," Fallen protested. "He likes to swear."

"He was more than just a little upset, Fallen," Henry argued. "He feels left out, neglected. It would be good to set up some kind of structured 'family' time for him."

"He's not a baby!" Fallen continued to protest. "He has lots of things to do."

"Too bad all he wants to do is fuck," Wolverine muttered.

"Logan!" Jean snapped. "Let's try to keep this constructive."

"Seein' as how y'all dragged my ass in 'ere fo' dis, can I say sumptin'?" Gambit interrupted, raising his hand like a kid in class.

The Professor nodded. "By all means."

"Nobody 'ere know Kimble better dan me now, comprenez? All dat boy needs is for Gambit to take 'im down to Raul's and get 'im laid. Pure an' simple. You'll see. One good workout wit Vanessa, he be right as rain, d'accorde?"

"Remy!" This time it was Rogue's turn to be exasperated but it was clear from the looks on the faces of the others around her that she had spoken for more than one of them. Kurt certainly looked scandalized, no surprise there considering how religious he was.

"You vould not really consider such a thing?" Nightcrawler gasped, his eyes wide.

Gambit shrugged. "Quoi? It's de truth, non? Let me take him out."

The Professor shook his head, a little surprised at this line of reasoning, but it wasn't any sort of prudishness that made him disagree. "I won't even begin to comment on such an unorthodox method of treatment. I'm concerned that it's much too dangerous to take him out. It's just not safe for mutants to be running around in public right now. There was another bombing last night. This time a clinic for mutant children and several infants were killed. Besides, I'm sure there are more practical ways to get Kimble adjusted."

Remy dropped his eyes and popped his gum in irritation. "You listen to me. Kimble ain't no pilot, he ain't no mechanic or construction worker buildin' rooms neither. Dat ain't what he was made for. 'E a whore, dat's it."

"That's enough," the Professor said sternly. While he liked his team to speak freely, he hadn't appreciated the language. "It's unreasonable to take Kimble off the grounds for such a purpose. He simply needs to be talked to and assisted in his transition."

Gambit shook his head sharply, his eyes flashing just slightly in irritation. "Non. You ask Gambit, 'e tell you straight. Dat boy wasn't meant for nuthin' but ta be a whore. What you t'ink 'is father make 'im for, eh? 'E was makin' money and 'e was 'appy dere wit dat. Lanlin, too. She was doin' what she was made to do. Folks keep tryin' ta use Kimble for sumptin' else den dey wonder why he all screwed up. You don' wanna listen ta me 'cause you all too delicate ta 'ear de trut'? Fine. Gambit's got work to do." He went to the door and paused. "When he keeps goin' all to shit, you'll see Gambit was right. Au revoir, y'all." He walked out, shutting the door behind him.

The Professor put his head down with a sigh. This wasn't going as well as he'd hoped.

"Maybe the kid's got a point," Logan conceded. It was true Lanlin had a kind of passivity and contentment that Kimble lacked.

"No. Kimble is not to be taken off the grounds," the Professor insisted. "What I want is for all of you to be careful how you speak to him and no more practical jokes, rubber or otherwise." There wasn't too much that got past this Master telepath in his own house. He didn't know who had placed the doll in Kimble's room, but had picked up on Kimble's rage from Henry. Beast had mentioned it before they met.

Charles held Kimble's Mistress with his eyes. "Fallen, you need to pay more attention to Kimble. While you're not an official member of this squad, Kimble's presence affects both Gambit and Henry. Kimble is your hologram and your property. He is your responsibility. I know you are working hard, but please try to fit him in. Play with him or do whatever it is that he needs to get him straightened out."

"Yes, sir," she replied, her head down. She was horrified and embarrassed to be having this conversation in front of so many people she respected. She couldn't wait to bolt out of here.

"Good. Now I want you all to be vigilant of him. If his moods worsen, I want to know. Empaths are often depressed and subject to insecurity and violence. If he does anything unusual, I want to know immediately. In the meantime, try talking with him and getting to know him better. Once he sees he's a part of the group, he'll be better. All right?"

There was mumbled assent and the Professor left, taking Fallen and Henry with him.

"Now we have to be his babysitter?" Bobby grumbled. "I've got better things to do."

"What about Jael? Isn't that more important?" Rogue tossed in for good measure.

"Don't worry. I've got Kimble covered," Wolverine growled. "He ain't goin' nowhere without me lookin' over his shoulder."

"Let me know how you make out," Scott said, nodding. "Keep me updated."

"What did Remy mean by Kimble being a whore?" Warren asked, confused. He knew nothing of Kimble other than his being a guest at the house.

"He's a hologram...or at least he was," Wolverine explained. "He used to be some kind of pleasure program. We don't know what he is anymore. There was an accident an' he got chemically changed somehow. Too bad it didn't fix his sex drive. Gambit was right on the money, he was made fer fuckin' an' that's all he wants ta do. But it's gettin' outta hand. That boy don' know when ta quit. He was pawin' up one of the students and Chuck just blew it off."

Warren shook his head in confusion. "So what's he doing with Gambit? Don't tell me the two of them are involved...?"

"Naw. At least I don't think so. I hope not. That stupid 'gram ain't nuthin' but trouble. He's gonna get someone hurt. He's got powers he can't control, too. He's got a whole bunch of trouble he ain't even begun ta start. Best keep out of his way and let me keep watch. I'll get his books in order b'fore long, don't you worry," he promised and walked out.

"I see Logan hasn't changed much," Angel commented. It had been a while since he'd been to the house.

"If you'd come around more often, you'd know that," Jean replied and gave him a quick squeeze.

Warren grinned, happy to feel included in this 'family' once more. It was good to be back. "Why don't we go to Harry's and you guys can catch me up?"

"Good idea," Scott agreed and they left, thinking on Kimble no more.


	8. Chapter 8

(Eight)

In spite of Fallen's efforts to entertain him, Kimble was good for only a couple of days. Fallen couldn't help the inevitable neglect that followed, her mind was elsewhere. Trouble found Kimble early one morning, stone cold bored and lonely. Gambit was slightly overdue from his search and discover mission and wasn't around. Kimble didn't know why Remy had disappeared but no one else seemed especially worried about it for the moment so he just put up with it, anxious for his friend's return. The Siskan was drawing again in his new room, wistful and dreamy. He was making a graphic picture of a sexual encounter between himself and Gambit, only one sexual fantasy of many he had in mind. He looked at it and smiled, lightly aroused and content for the moment. He was a little more optimistic now about his chances, misinterpreting Remy's attention and loving concern as a promise of things to come. He could be patient with a goal in mind.

_Oh, shure. That's gonna happen_! Zander piped in. He had become Kimble's new constant companion in his loneliness.

"I kin hopes if I wants to," Kimble replied, no longer put off by Zander's chatter. At least someone was paying attention to him, even if was only a figment of his own imagination.

_How 'bouts we turn that hope inta some kind of reality, huh? Let's just go!_

"It ain't safe. Evrabody says it's too dangerous. Lotsa bad folks around."

_That's just an excuse ta hold ya down. You kin fights!_

"No, I cain't. I got my ass kicked by Logan."

_That wuz before. Now ya gots me. Now ya gots Valentin's sword._

Kimble saw a shimmery image in front of him of Valentin's sword. Like Zander's voice, Kimble believed it wasn't real. It was just an image of an idea inside of him. The sword represented his telekinetic power. So far he'd done little to explore the limits of it.

_Let's do some of that explorin' these folks keep hintin' at. Let's go play!_

Kimble scowled and brushed his fingers over the outline of Remy's face.

_Ya gots better things ta do with yer time, kid. Just as well that pretty boy's gone fer a while._ _Time ta gits ta work an' you don't be needin' no distractions._

Kimble didn't argue but gathered his papers up and put them away. He had made a long wooden box he now kept under his bed. He had installed a lock on it for privacy, still upset over his room having been invaded. He never did find out who it was that had left him the rubber sex doll. The wooden box had all of his personal things, plus a few items he had acquired.

In his loneliness, Kimble had become a closet kleptomaniac, stealing small things that belonged to the people here. Kimble had been ordered to stay down in the lower levels, but he was one to push the boundaries of things. Late at night when the house was quiet, he would phase up through the floor and prowl the hallways, being careful not to be seen. It was helpful that telepaths couldn't sense him and Logan couldn't easily sniff him out. He found most of the things he'd taken just laying around, he wasn't so bold as to invade another person's room besides Remy's. He felt Remy was close enough to him that he could get away with that, but wasn't about to go into the rooms of any of the others.

In the box, he still had Remy's shirt, but had since added one of Henry's medical smocks and some photographs of the alphas that were just hanging around. He had also stolen some of Wolverine's old and crinkled porno magazines -- he had taken those from Logan's locker in the gym and they still smelled slightly of cigars and booze. He had one of Jean's bras he'd taken from the laundry and a pair of Bobby's shorts. He would take these objects out late at night and pretend that these things represented real friends who wanted to be with him. Zander would tease him about it, but Kimble didn't care.

Kimble placed his drawings inside the box and locked it up. The drawings were his most prized possession. They represented his desire for Remy, but also his wish for some kind of happiness. He had a feeble belief that if he could please Gambit in this way, he would have true acceptance and belong here.

Along with the pictures he had made, Kimble had also begun a small journal. He wanted to try and capture the things Sheyman had said to him when he almost died back on the ship. He was afraid that if he waited too long he would forget not the words, but the emotion and the importance behind them. It also helped him to pass the time and vent some of his frustration and disappointment at how difficult things had become for him.

Kimble left his room and walked out of the ship. Fallen had just given him a Ristle charge so he should be good for awhile. Kimble snuck quietly out of the hanger and walked down the hall of the lower level. No one was around. He paced his steps carefully, moving steadily until he knew he was directly under the main hall of the house. He concentrated and jumped, phasing up through the ceiling and up to the hall. He was completely silent and he didn't think anyone saw him. He ran quickly and phased through the side of the house and out into the yard. He was getting quite good at this, sneaking out and about. He wasn't going to go far, he just wanted some private time away. He wanted to be outside where he could breathe. He flew with a strong burst of speed into the woods nearby. He was free.

Kimble ran and scampered through the trees, careful to avoid any white striped cats. He touched all the trees and bushes as he passed, experiencing them with his hands. His mood lifted quickly the further away from the house he went and he cursed himself for not having done this sooner. He saw some blackberries and ate a handful. They were tart and sweet at the same time, thrilling him. He loved it out here --the smells and the lack of walls, the springtime air was so sweet.

Kimble went deeper into the forest until he found the path that led to the obstacle course. It was large and complicated and had many wooden structures and ropes. He'd noticed it when they'd gone walking earlier and couldn't wait to try it out. Zander's constant pestering for him to explore was now too strong to be denied. He took the path and went up to the first obstacle, a tall climbing wall. He could jump it easily using his telekinesis, but that would eliminate the challenge.

He ran and leapt for the top. He fell short and landed on his ass with a thump. He laughed, easily amused at himself. He dusted off and tried again. His fingers reached the ledge, but he still fell in spite of some desperate scrambling. He got up and shook himself like a dog, loosening up. He stepped back and gave his goal a good hard look, trying to calculate the distance. He rubbed his hands, gave a good run and leapt for the top. He got a good grip this time, using his toe claws, and pulled himself up. He was thrilled and wanted to yell, but didn't want anyone to hear him.

He looked down at his feet and saw that the edge was about eight inches or so wide, it reminded him of a balance beam. Just out of curiosity, he turned sideways and looked again, measuring the distance. He stood straight, took a deep breath and did a perfect back spring. He was very flexible, like a gymnast, his inorganic body never stiffening with age. He did a back flip next and it was flawless, filling him with pride. It had been a long time, but he could still do his old tricks. He always loved tumbling and dancing. He did a couple more flips and used a somersault to vault off the ledge. He landed on his feet, but bobbled the landing and fell on his ass again. He laughed and wiped his chin. This was fun.

A light breeze had come up, tickling his arms. He closed his eyes, feeling it. He loved anything that touched his skin. Except Logan's fists of course. The thought of his old tormentor cooled him a little. He wished he could kick Logan's ass and put him in his place once and for all. Logan hadn't been around much, but Kimble still thought of him as his chief peer and rival. Kimble looked up and saw the trees ripple gently from the breeze. An idea flashed in his mind. Filled with inspiration, he looked around and saw he was still alone. He stood and relaxed, concentrating.

He concentrated and visualized a sword in front of him, hoping to make the idea become a real thing. He had made other things happen just by wishing for it, why not this? He felt a tingling in his hands, but couldn't quite make it happen. He decided to try something easier and attempted to create a shield instead. He was pleasantly surprised when he felt the pinching sensation in his head and the air changed in front of him. The particles had become dense and formed a clear, floating barrier in front of him. It wasn't perfectly round, just a ragged piece of hardened air hovering expectantly. It was tinged slightly blue and rippled liquidly as if it were alive.

He smiled, pleased with himself, but now didn't know quite what to do with it. Maybe if he broke it up, he could play with it. He concentrated and broke it into pieces, like blunted shards. They dangled in front of him like a string of pale icicles and he wondered if he could throw them like darts. He concentrated again and swept his arm out in front of him, using his telekinesis to send the shards out and away from him. They slid through the air away from him obediently and hit the trees. Even blunted, some of the lower branches snapped off from the force of them. He stepped back in shock. He had no idea his awkward new power could cause that kind of damage.

_Hoo haw, boy!_ Zander shouted inside Kimble's head. _Now what do ya know about that!_

---------------------------

Logan stood a short distance off, watching. It had been nice and quiet while Kimble had been hiding out, but he knew it wouldn't last. He was pissed at Gambit for being gone so long -- not too much because he knew the thief was probably working – but was even more upset with Fallen for not keeping her promise to keep Kimble occupied. Now here Kimble was, back out and back into trouble. Other than breaking his probation by being unsupervised, he had no problem with Kimble using the obstacle course, exercise was healthy after all. What he didn't like was Kimble exploring his powers, not on his own instead of in a class and supervised. Wolverine was especially displeased with how strong Kimble's telekinesis was turning out to be. The strongest of telekinetics made the shields, the elite or omega telekinetics made the weapons out of thin air. Now, Kimble had just displayed the ability that chilled Logan the most. This guy couldn't be trusted and now he was out here learning how to cut things up. Not good. How long before he tried this on something that could bleed?

Logan loped up to the practice area and came up behind Kimble. "What are ya doin' out here...Skunk Boy."

Kimble turned around with a snarl. He was furious that Logan had caught him outside in spite of his efforts to sneak out unnoticed. On top of that, he really didn't stink too much any more. He'd spent quite a bit of time in the shower scrubbing himself raw and smearing Fallen's scented soaps all over. His voice was tight with anger as he hissed, "Don' calls me that!"

"Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"

Kimble raised his fists.

Logan just laughed. "I thought you were smart. That didn't work out so well for you the last time."

"What's yer problem? Why're you followin' me around? I ain't done nuthin!"

Logan pointed to the damaged foliage. "What do ya call that?"

"I wuz just figgerin' things out, is all."

"Sneaking out of the house to 'figger things out' ain't a good way ta build trust, buddy."

"I learns better by myself. Don' want nobody watchin' me screw up."

Logan grunted. "Kinda hard, ain't it? I mean, you screw up all the time."

Kimble put his head down. "Why're you so mean ta me?"

"I ain't mean. I just call like it is. You can't handle that, too bad. I do know one thing. I ain't comfortable with you out here alone doin' things you got no control over. You wanna learn something, learn how to be a good little boy and keep out of trouble --- back at the house!"

"You gots no right!"

Logan stepped up to him quickly and shoved him viciously. "I got every right! This is my home! My people! I ain't gonna stand by and watch you screw up and hurt somebody cause you wanted ta 'figger it out' on yer own. You understandin' me, boy?"

Kimble staggered back, rubbing his chest where Logan had struck him. He glared at Wolverine angrily. "The only thing I understand is ya got some kinda bug up yer ass about me. Maybe ya gots a crush on me an jus' don' wanna admits it!" he snarled, pissy now and eager for a fight.

He got it. Kimble ducked quickly as Logan swung at him. Kimble stepped aside, his face breaking out in a sly grin. "Kinda sensitive ain'tcha? Maybe I ain't so far off, huh?"

"Yer not even close!"

Wolverine lunged and Kimble danced away, laughing. Kimble knew he was going to get in trouble for this, but just couldn't help himself. This was just too much fun and he'd been cooped up for too long. He was so starved for attention, he unconsciously took whatever he could get, including this.

Logan continued to try and grab or hit Kimble but he was just too fast. Logan's fury grew when he saw what a kick Kimble was getting out of this. He also immediately recognized Kimble's evasive techniques and knew where he'd gotten them from. Kimble had played back his memory files and learned from Zander just as he'd feared. Kimble dodged quickly and used his telekinesis to fly just out of Logan's reach. He never tried to retaliate, just stayed out of harm's way while Logan exhausted himself. Kimble's responsive teasing laughter brought out the deepest rage in Logan, making him snarl and growl in frustration.

"You want me so bad? Ya gots ta catch me first!" Kimble teased, making kissing sounds. "Hoo, boy! You an me're gonna have some fun. I got some real nice files fer ya!" He began to describe in graphic sexual detail just how many ways he could get Logan off, just to antagonize the man.

Kimble got results. Logan bellowed in fury, and popped his claws. He was almost blind with rage now and getting closer to his target. Kimble was becoming sloppy and reckless as he laughed harder and harder. Kimble continued to torment Logan, his language becoming more foul and graphic. He backed up and tripped over one of the tree branches he'd cut. He forgot to catch himself and flailed with his arms as he fell. Logan pounced, claws out.

He never landed. A sudden strong wind blew him back, denying him his prey. He tumbled expertly though, and jumped back to his feet. He tried to renew his attack, but the wind still restrained him. Storm landed gracefully just in front Kimble, blocking him from view. She had been sent by the Professor who wasn't always so blind to the happenings on the grounds. She was here to intervene and was controlling the winds to keep Logan in check. "Kimble, the Professor would like to see you now in his office," she said sternly.

Kimble got up and dusted off. "I didn' starts it!" he complained, whining like a child.

"Do I look like I am interested in your excuses? Go back to the house and do as you were told." she barked, demanding his obedience.

"Yes, ma'am," Kimble replied with a pout, respecting her authority, and walked off towards the house.

Storm looked at her teammate with the same measure of disapproval she had for Kimble. Logan should have known better than to let a newcomer like Kimble get the best of him like that. "Are you done?"

Logan stood panting, with his claws still out, and didn't answer. He wasn't fighting her anymore and she let her winds die down, leaving him rumpled and windblown.

"What is it about him that brings out the worst in you, Logan?" she asked, lowering her voice as a way of asking for him to listen and think about what had just happened.

Logan wiped his chin and calmed down. He snapped his claws back in and sat down on the grass, taking deep breaths and smoothing out his hair. He had his reasons, but he wasn't about to talk about them. He knew Ororo well, they had known each other for many years, but he wasn't one to talk about his feelings, even to her. "I dunno. The little punk just pisses me off!"

"You've worked so hard to control your temper, don't let Kimble wreck all that."

He nodded at her, at her endless sensibility. Her presence was calming and he knew she was right. She was showing him why she was sometimes called upon for backup team leader instead of himself, she wasn't one to give in to anger, at least not as easily as he did. "Yer right, 'Ro. Maybe I outta take off fer a few days."

Storm smiled at him, running a hand through her own bright white hair, so shocking against her dark ebony skin. Unlike Logan, the winds only made her look even more beautiful. "Don't even think about it, Logan. We need you here to help figure out what Jael is up to. Why don't you just concentrate on that and leave Kimble to us? You aren't the only one who can look after him."

"He's dangerous," he grumbled petulantly, not backing down on that at least.

"So are you when you're like this. You need to back off."

"Right. Whatever you say."

She sat down next to him. "We've handled some of the worst super villains on those times you weren't here. Believe me, Fallen's little hologram won't be a problem."

"I'll try ta stay out of his way, okay?" Logan offered, bowing down to her persuasions. "But if he starts something, I'm gonna be there to put him down." This was the closest she was going to get to a concession.

She smiled, happy to take what she could get. "All right. Don't worry. The Professor will take care of this."

---------------------------------------------------

Kimble walked into the house and made his way to the Professor's study. He almost groaned out loud when he saw Fallen and Henry waiting there for him. He acted casually, but was quaking inside. He was so busted. "Ya wants ta see me?" he said to the Professor.

"Yes, Kimble. Please sit." Charles gestured towards a sofa.

Kimble sat and waited. He wouldn't look up at Fallen but he could feel her fury. He smiled as one of the Professor's cats, Trixie, jumped up into his lap and offered him some distraction. Henry had taken the time to explaine to him the difference between cats and skunks and that the Professor had a cat upstairs. This was the first time Kimble had seen her and was pleased when she was so friendly. She rubbed herself against him and purred, sending him a gentle vibration of love and acceptance. He petted her gratefully, seeking comfort from her soft fur and finding it. He flinched when the Professor cleared his throat to regain Kimble's attention.

"I'm disappointed to be having this kind of conversation with you again, Kimble, especially in such a short period of time. We don't have a lot of rules here," the Professor began. "But we do have to make an effort to get along with each other --"

"He wuz followin' me around!" Kimble interrupted, but stopped short when Fallen sucked in a sharp breath, silencing him. He put his head down and kept quiet as the Professor continued to lecture.

"I understand Logan pretty well. He's just being protective of us and that's fine. I will speak to him about his methods of doing so. It doesn't hide the fact that you've slipped out of your boundaries. That transgression aside, your activities out there could put someone at risk. You have powers you wish to explore, that's fine. It is good that you wish to learn more about yourself. What is not acceptable is that you try and do this on your own. We have many resources here. Use them. Let us teach you under more controlled circumstances, all right?"

"All right," Kimble mumbled. He had no intention of taking the Professor up on his offer, he just wanted out of here. Kimble was becoming less and less convinced of his ability to fit in here at all.

"Very good, then. If there's anything else you need, I'm always right here."

"Yes, sir," Kimble said, getting up. He carefully placed the cat where he'd been sitting, bowed politely, and left.

Fallen was right behind him. Once out in the hall, she grabbed his arm and spun him around. **"Don't you blow this for me!"** she hissed at him in Siskan. **"This is my only chance to get Seth out and I won't let you screw this up, understand!"**

**"Aye, Fallen,"** he said, squirming.

**"I want you to go down to the ship and stay there. You don't go anywhere without telling me. You leave on your own again and there will be hell to pay!"**

**"I ain't gonna do nuthin', Fallen. I promise."**

**"Yeah, well. I've heard that one before,"** she snarled.

She released him and he fled. He obeyed his Mistress and immediately went back to the ship. He hid down in the Storage Room again, wanting only to be left alone, and quietly fumed. This was really starting to suck big time. He couldn't go anywhere, do anything without getting yelled at for something.

He couldn't stand it how Fallen didn't stand up for him, at least Remy seemed to care how he felt. Fallen just didn't seem to notice what was going on. He was miserable now and lonely all the time and she was just too busy doing her own thing to see it. It was as though he didn't belong to her anymore and he was just in the way.

_We did good, kid!_ Zander chirped, surprisingly happy. It was an unusual mood for him.

"What makes ya say that? I got my ass chewed out again."

_Ya showed that asshole Logan good._ _He couldn't keep up with ya. Ya knows what ya kin make now. Them shields kin keep ya safe. These stupid alphas cain't hold ya back now!_

"I reckon so," Kimble agreed, his spirits soaring again when he thought of how easily he'd evaded Logan. Of course he had conveniently forgotten how Storm had flown in and saved his ass. Kimble smiled and used a small amount of his power to make a ball of hardened air. He tossed it up and down, liking the feel of it in his hand. It was just like making a shield, only smaller. It was a new trick, he'd never seen Fallen use her power this way. She made shields and stuff, but not to be used as weapons. Not to be thrown. He fancied the idea of a long range defense. It would be handy when confronted by small hairy men with nine inch claws.

_So when we bustin' outta here?_ Zander piped in, still cheerful.

"Huh?"

_When we goin' out?_

"I promised Remy. If I'm good, he'll takes me out."

_Why wait fer him when ya kin do it yerself?_ _Didn't he say how it's up ta ya ta take care of yerself?_ _Let's prove it._ _You wants ta fuck, wants ta feel that red hot love, huh? Take it! Use that human skin you gots and find someone out there who'll do fer you._

"City's too far away."

Zander snorted. _I'll just bet this small town gots a bar or a dancin' place. That's good fer a start._

Kimble considered his options. He wanted to be good, but his need for companionship was being stoked by Zander's desire. He couldn't help but be a little afraid of the big outside world. It was so big and he still felt very tiny in it. Maybe he could find that companionship in a different place. Someplace a little closer to home.

To be continued in Steppin' Out.


End file.
